-^<?Z5fii..V\T.A^^'^^ 


BV   3    .S3 

Schenck,    Ferdinand 

i>churenian,    1845-1925 
Modern    practical    thfoiogy 


MODERN 
PRACTICAL    THEOLOGY 


1909 


Modern    x<^,.. 


Practical  Theology 


A   MANUAL   OF 

HOMILETICS,  LITURGICS,  POIMENICS, 
ARCHAGICS,  PEDAGOGY,  SOCIOLOGY, 
AND   THE   ENGLISH   BIBLE      .      .      .      . 


Ferdinand  S.  Schenck,  D.D. 

Professor  of  Practical  Theology,   Theological  Setninary  of  the  Reformed 
Church  in  America  at  New  Brunswick^  N.  J. 


FUNK    &    WAGNALLS    COMPANY 

NEW    YORK    AND    I^ONDON 
1903 


COPYRIGHT,    1903,   BY 

FUNK    &    WAGNAIvLS    COMPANY 

{Printed  in  the  United  States  of  A  merica] 

Published  in  September,  1903 


CONTENTS 


CHAFTKB  PAGE 

Introduction vii 

Books  Eecommended xi 

I.  Homiletics 15 

II.  Liturgies 72 

III.  Poimenics 102 

lY.  Archagics 131 

V.  Pedagogy 160 

YI.  Soeiology 192 

YII.  The  English  Bible 245 

Index 313 


INTRODUCTION 


PRACTICAL    THEOLOGY 

Practical  Theology  is  distinguished  from  the  other 
branches  of  Theology  in  that  it  is  the  application  of 
them  all  to  the  influencing  of  human  life. 

Theology  is  the  sum  of  our  knowledge  of  God.  ]N'at- 
ural  Theology  is  all  we  know  of  God  from  nature. 
Eevealed  Theology  is  all  we  know  of  God  from  the 
Bible.  Exegetical  and  Biblical  Theologies  derive  their 
knowledge  from  the  careful  study  of  the  sacred  ^Titings. 
Historical  Theology  derives  its  knowledge  from  the 
dealings  of  God  with  the  race  of  man  as  recorded  in 
secular  and  especially  in  sacred  and  church  history. 
Systematic  Theology  arranges  the  knowledge  of  God 
derived  from  all  sources  into  a  system. 

All  these  branches  are  concerned  with  knowing. 
Practical  Theology  is  concerned  with  doing.  It  stimu- 
lates to  knomng  by  placing  a  practical  estimate  upon  it. 
It  incites  the  ambition  to  be  learned  in  order  that  one 
may  be  wise.  It  aims  to  utilize  all  the  knowledge  that 
can  be  acquired  for  the  welfare  of  mankind.  Knowing 
is  of  little  worth  without  doing,  but  is  of  vast  worth  for 
doing.  The  quality  of  the  work  depends  upon  the 
quality  of  knowing,  but  the  quality  of  knowing  may  be 
very  fine  and  worthless  without  being  used.  One  may 
be  a  fine  scholar  and  a  great  theologian,  but  a  poor  min- 
ister. Practical  Theology  aims  to  make  him  an  equally 
fine  and  great  preacher  and  pastor.     But  Practical  The- 


viil  INTEODUCTIOK 

ology,  in  order  to  be  practical,  must  have  something  to 
work  with — it  must  have  a  man  learned  in  all  the  other 
branches  of  Theology.  It  incites  to  the  widest  and 
most  thorough  culture  that  one  may  be  most  widely  and 
most  thoroughly  useful. 

The  branches  of  Practical  Theology  cover  all  the 
work  of  the  ministry.  Homiletics  shows  how  truth  may 
be  best  presented  in  preaching.  Liturgies  directs  in  the 
conduct  of  the  public  worship  of  God.  Poimenics  stimu- 
lates the  minister  and  leads  him  in  the  care  of  souls. 
Archagics  develops  him  in  organizing  and  leading  the 
church  as  a  ministering  and  aggressive  force  in  conquer- 
ing the  world  for  Christ. 

Pedagogics  cultivates  the  minister  in  teaching  and  in 
leading  the  many  teaching  forces  of  the  Church.  Soci- 
ology shows  how  the  knowledge  of  God  and  of  His  laws 
in  the  social  life  of  mankind,  and  especially  in  the  social 
life  of  the  Bible,  may  be  applied  in  establishing  the 
Kingdom  of  God,  the  ideal  Society,  in  each  community 
and  in  the  whole  earth. 

The  study  of  the  English  Bible  runs  through  the 
whole  course,  fostering  familiarity  with  and  use  of  the 
Sword  of  the  Spirit  in  all  the  work  of  the  ministry. 

In  pursuing  the  study  of  Practical  Theology  we  shall 
use  thi^  Manual  as  giving  the  outlines  of  the  various 
branches  of  the  subject.  These  outlines  are  not  liable 
to  change  materially  in  a  few  years;  but  such  changes 
as  are  made,  and  the  many  details  and  applications  of 
the  subject,  will  be  given  in  the  supplemental  lectures  in 
the  classroom. 


IKTEODUCTION  ix 

In  each  main  division  of  the  subject^  as  a  rule,  one 
book  will  be  recommended  for  reference,  and  several 
books  for  power  or  stimulation.  It  is  expected  that 
each  student  shall  prepare  a  synopsis  of  the  reference 
book,  and  shall  read  such  portions  of  his  work  as  may  be 
called  for  in  the  classroom. 

Seminar  work  and  laboratory  investigation  along 
suggested  lines  will  be  conducted  where  the  subject  per- 
mits. Much  time  will  also  be  given  to  putting  theories 
into  practise  in  all  available  ways,  especially  in  pre- 
paring and  preaching  sermons.  In  the  English  Bible 
course  each  student  is  expected  to  prepare  a  synopsis  of 
the  readings  of  each  week,  covering  the  whole  Bible  in 
the  course  of  three  years. 

Besides  the  suggestions  of  the  manual,  supplemental 
lectures  upon  the  books  of  the  Bible  and  the  uses  to 
which  they  are  best  adapted  will  be  given  in  the  class- 
room. 

Acknowledgment  is  gratefully  made  for  many  ideas 
and  some  expressions  to  the  books  recommended  for 
reference  and  power. 


BOOKS   RECOMMENDED 


HOMILETICS 

FOR  reference: 

Preparation  and  Delivery  of  Sermons.  By  J.  A.  Broadus. 
A.  S.  Armstrong  &  Son,  New  York.    $1.75. 

FOR  power: 

Yale  Lectures  on  Preaching.  By  Henry  Ward  Beecher. 
The  Pilgrim  Press,  Boston.     $1.50. 

The  Philosophy  of  Preaching.  By  A.  J.  F.  Behrends. 
Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  New  York.    $1.00. 

Lectures  on  Preaching.  By  Phillips  Brooks.  Pacific  Press 
Publishing  Co.,  Oakland,  Cal.    $1.50. 

Preaching  in  the  New  Age.  By  A.  J.  Lyman,  D.D.  F.  H. 
Revell  Co.,  New  York.    75  cents. 

Before  an  Audience.  By  Nathan  Sheppard.  Funk  &  Wag- 
nails  Company,  New  York.    75  cents. 

LITURGICS 

FOR  reference: 

Practical  Liturgies.  By  David  D.  Demarest,  D.D.  Theolog- 
ical Seminary,  New  Brunswick,  N.  J.     $1.00. 

FOR  power: 

Extempore  Prayer.  By  M.  P.  Tailing.  F.  H.  Revell  Co., 
New  York.     $1.00. 

Musical  Ministries  in  the  Church.  By  W.  S.  Pratt.  F.  H. 
.   Revell  Co.,  New  York.     $1.00. 

Hymns  Historically  Famous.  By  N.  Smith.  Advance  Pub- 
lishing Company,  Chicago,  111.    $1.25. 


xii  BOOKS  EECOMMENDED 

Yale  Lectures  on  Preaching  (Prayer  and  Music).  Second 
Series.  By  Henry  Ward  Beecher.  The  Pilgrim  Press, 
Boston.     $1.50. 

POIMENICS 

FOR  REFERENCE: 

Pastoral  Theology.  By  David  D.  Demarest,  D.D.  Theolog- 
ical Seminary,  New  Brunswick,  N.  J.     $1.00. 

FOR  power: 

Pastoral  Theology.  By  William  G.  T.  Shedd,  D.D.  Charles 
Scribner's  Sons,  New  York.     $2.50. 

Building  Eras  in  Religion.  By  Horace  Bushnell,  D.D. 
Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  New  York.     $1.50. 

The  Christian  Pastor  and  the  Working  Church.  By  Wash- 
ington Gladden.  Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  New  York. 
$2.50. 

Tongue  of  Fire.  By  W.  Arthur.  Harper  &  Brothers,  New 
York.    50  cents. 

The  Imitation  of  Christ.  By  Thomas  a  Kempis.  Many 
editions  at  various  prices. 

ARCHAGICS 
FOR  power: 

The  World  the  Subject  of  Redemption.  By  W.  H.  Free- 
mantle.     Longmans,  Green  &  Co.,  New  York.     $2.00. 

Social  Progress  and  Christian  Missions.  By  J.  S.  Dennis. 
F.  H.  Revell  Co.,  New  York.     3  vols.     Each,  $2.50. 

Miracles  of  Missions.  By  Arthur  T.  Pierson.  Funk  &  Wag- 
nails  Company,  New  York.  Vols.  I.,  II.,  III.,  each, 
$1.00;  Vol.  IV.,  90  cents;  postage,  10  cents. 

Institutional  Church.  By  E.  Judson.  Lentilhon  &  Co.,  New 
York.    60  cents. 

Social  Settlements.  By  C.  R.  Henderson.  Lentilhon  &  Co., 
New  York.    60  cents. 

Battle  with  the  Slums.  By  Jacob  A.  Riis.  The  Macmillan 
Co.,  New  York.     $2.00. 


BOOKS  EECOMMENDED  xiii 

PEDAGOGY 

FOR  REFERENCE 

The  Education  of  Man.  By  F.  A.  W.  Froebel.  D.  Appleton 
&  Co.,  New  York.     $1.50. 

FOR  power: 

Talks  to  Teachers  on  Psychology.  By  W.  James.  Henry 
Holt  &  Co.,  New  York.     $1.60. 

Psychology:  Briefer  Course.  By  W.  James.  Henry  Holt  & 
Co.,  New  York.     $1.50. 

The  Meaning  of  Education.  By  N.  M.  Butler.  E.  L.  Kel- 
logg &  Co.,  New  York.    $1.00. 

Principles  of  Religious  Education.  Edited  by  H.  C.  Potter. 
Longmans,  Green  &  Co.,  New  York.     $1.25. 

The  Teacher,  the  Child,  and  the  Book.  By  A.  H.  Schauffler. 
A.  Wilde  &  Co.,  Boston.     $1.00. 

Sunday-School  Success.  By  Amos  R.  Wells.  F.  H.  Revell 
Co.,  New  York.     $1.25. 


SOCIOLOGY 

FOR  reference: 

Elements  of  Sociology.  By  F.  H.  Giddings.  The  Macmillan 
Company,  New  York.     $1.10. 

FOR  power: 

Faith  and  Social  Service.  By  G.  Hodges.  Thomas  Whit- 
taker,  New  York.     $1.25. 

Religion  in  History.  By  A.  M.  Fairbairn.  Lentilhon  &  Co., 
New  York.     $1.25. 

Social  Law  of  Service.  By  Richard  T.  Ely.  Methodist  Book 
Concern,  New  York.    90  cents. 

Social  Teachings  of  Jesus.  By  Shailer  Mathews.  The  Mac- 
millan Co.,  New  York.     $1.50. 

Social  Evolution.  By  Benjamin  Kidd.  The  Macmillan  Co., 
New  York.    $1.50. 


xiv  BOOKS   RECOMMENDED 

THE  ENGLISH  BIBLE 
FOR  power: 

A  Layman's  Study  of  the  English  Bible.    By  Francis  Bowen. 

Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  New  York.     $1.00. 
The  Bible  and  Other  Literature  in  the  Nineteenth  Century. 

By  Luther  T.   Townsend.     Methodist  Book  Concern, 

New  York.    40  cents. 
Literary  Study  of  the  Bible.     By  R.   G.   Moulton.     D.   C. 

Heath  &  Co.,  Boston.    $2.00. 
Hints  on  Bible  Study.   Essays  by  H.  C.  Trumbull,  A.  Phelps, 

and    Others.      Charles    Scribner's    Sons,    New   York. 

$1.00. 
A  Key  to  the  Gospels.    By  D.  S.  Gregory.    Funk  &  Wagnalls 

Co.,  New  York.    $1.00. 
Old  Testament  and  Content.    By  James  Robertson.     F.  H. 

Re  veil  Co.,  New  York.    25  cents,  40  cents. 
New  Testament  and  Its  Writers.     By  J.   A.   McClymont. 

F.  H.  Revell  Co.,  New  York.    25  cents,  40  cents. 


MODERN    PRACTICAL   THEOLOGY 


CHAPTER  I 
HOMILETICS 

Homiletics  treats  of  the  preparation  and  delivery 
of  sermons.  It  is  the  science  of  which  preaching  is  the 
art.  It  has  these  characteristics  of  a  science:  (1)  It 
gathers  all  the  facts  about  preaching;  (2)  it  finds  what 
is  common  to  these  facts  (thus  grouping  them  into 
classes)  j  and  (3)  it  discovers  the  forces  and  laws  running 
through  these  groups. 

Preaching  has  a  long  history  and  wide  existence  in 
the  world  to-day.  Homiletics  carefully  examines, 
gathers,  and  compares  the  facts  from  this  history  and 
experience;  determines  what  is  good  preaching  of  vari- 
ous kinds;  and  discovers  the  principles  and  rules  lead- 
ing to  such  preaching.  It  is  a  part  of  a  still  wider  scope 
of  investigation,  for  preaching  is  only  one  branch  of 
oratory. 

We  are  to  gather  from  the  world's  experience  in  ora' 
tory  how  we  may  become  good  orators;  from  the  world's 
experience  in  preaching  how  we  are  to  become  good 
preachers. 

While  Homiletics  learns  from  the  experience  of  all 
ages  and  races,  it  incites  also  to  lofty  ideals.  There 
should  be  a  constant  improvement  in  preaching;  indeed, 
the  best  preaching  is  still  to  come.     The  rules  and  prin- 

15 


16    MODERN  PRACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

ciples  of  preaching  develop  individuality  and  foster 
genius.  The  laws  of  preaching  are  based  upon  the 
fundamental  principles  of  our  nature:  the  way  in  which 
one  soul  may  persuade  another  or  many  others.  The 
great  preachers,  from  Moses  to  Paul  and  to  the  present 
time,  have  instinctively  or  purposely  obeyed  these  laws, 
and  the  laws  can  never  be  set  aside.  While  great  genius 
can  never  be  independent  of  law,  there  is  room  within 
the  law  for  the  greatest  genius,  and  the  man  with  ordi- 
nary gifts  by  obeying  law  may  make  the  most  of  him- 
self in  preaching. 

The  importance  of  preaching  can  be  estimated  in 
three  ways:  (1)  from  its  nature  and  history;  (2)  from 
its  aims;  and  (3)  by  comparison  with  kindred  forces. 

1.  From  its  nature  and  Mstoyy.  Oratory  is  the  trans- 
mission of  power  by  oral  speech  from  the  orator  to  the 
people,  so  that  his  feelings,  thoughts,  and  purposes  be- 
come theirs  and  sway  them.  Oratory  may  be  upon 
many  themes,  but  it  is  only  noble  when  the  orator  lifts 
up  people  to  a  higher  and  better  condition  of  feeling, 
thinking,  and  willing.  Our  Lord  commanded  His  dis- 
ciples to  teach  to  all  nations  all  He  had  taught  them. 
The  Christian  religion  has  nothing  to  hide,  no  occult 
rites  or  beliefs,  but  everything  to  proclaim,  and  Christ 
is  the  authority  for  preaching  the  Gospel.  Preaching  is 
the  public  advocacy  of  the  truths  and  practises  of  the 
Chijistian  religion  by  one  approved  by  the  Church  and 
usually  in  connection  with  a  service  of  worship. 

Preaching,  therefore,  is  the  noblest  kind  of  oratory: 
it  has  the  loftiest  theme;  it  has  the  highest  sanction,  and 
it  is  spoken  in  the  best  surroundings.  The  preacher  who 
is  swayed  himself  may  feel  that  God's  power  is  passing 


HOMILETICS  17 

throiigli  him  to  lift  up  the  people.  It  is  the  carrying  on 
of  the  work  of  the  Old  Testament  prophets  in  spirit.  It 
is  following  the  example  of  Christ,  the  greatest  preacher. 
It  is  obeying  the  command  of  Christ  to  teach  all  men  all 
that  He  taught  them.  It  is  carrying  out  the  work  of  the 
apostles  and  disciples  as  recorded  in  the  Kew  Testament. 
It  has  illustrated  the  Divine  wisdom  of  its  appointment 
in  that  it  has  been  the  characteristic  element  in  the 
spread  of  Christianity.  It  has  brought  salvation  to  all 
classes  of  men,  and  has  elevated  the  intellectual  and 
moral  conditions  of  communities  and  nations. 

The  age  of  prediction  is  past,  but  the  age  of  prophecy 
can  never  pass  while  God  sends  truth  and  man  needs  it. 
The  preacher  of  righteousness  from  God  through  Christ 
will  always  have  a  message  that  will  secure  a  hearing. 
The  lifting  of  Christ  still  draws  all  men.  People  will 
crowd  churches  in  all  ages  and  climes  to  hear  a  mes- 
senger of  God. 

2,  From  its  aims.  These  may  be  described  from  differ- 
ent standpoints,  as  we  advance  from  one  to  the  other  of 
which  the  importance  of  preaching  grows  upon  us. 
They  are  : 

(a)  The  conversion  of  souls.  To  turn  an  immortal 
soul  from  darkness,  sin,  and  death  to  light,  righteous- 
ness, and  life  is  a  work  of  vast  importance. 

(5)  The  culture  of  believers  in  holiness,  in  character, 
and  conduct  like  unto  Christ's.  The  reconstruction  of 
manhood  into  God's  likeness  surpasses  in  importance  all 
issues  of  courts  or  senates. 

(c)  The  establishment  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  on 
earth.  The  reconstruction  of  an  individual  not  only,  but 
of  society,  of  humanity,  into  God's  ideal  society  the  wide 


18    MODEEN  PEACTIOAL  THEOLOGY 

world  over.  All  good  statesmanship  and  generalsLi}) 
are  but  reflections  of  this  all-embracing  importance  of 
preaching. 

(d)  The  one  great  aim  of  preaching  is  to  make  man 
conscious  of  the  presence  of  God  and  to  bring  him  into 
right  relationship  with  Him.  Eight  living  in  time  and 
eternity  for  the  individual,  society,  the  race,  is  included 
in  the  importance  of  preaching. 

3.  By  comparison  ivith  Jcindred  forces.  Preaching  is  so 
important  that  nothing  can  take  its  place.  The  printed 
page  can  not,  for,  tho  a  mighty  force,  it  lacks  the  element 
of  personal  contact,  the  impress  of  personality. 

Public  worship  can  not,  for,  tho  its  influence  upon  the 
character  of  the  worshiper  is  very  great,  it  is  itself  de- 
pendent upon  the  instruction  and  incitement  of  preach- 
ing. 

Pastoral  work  can  not.  For,  tho  the  touch  of  soul  with 
soul  makes  marvelous  changes,  it  is  limited  to  individ- 
uals, while  preaching  reaches  masses  of  people;  pastoral 
work  helps  in  preaching,  but  can  not  take  its  place. 

Good  preaching  is  speaking  the  truths  of  the  Chris- 
tian religion  in  a  public  assembly  in  a  way  to  convince 
the  judgment,  kindle  the  imagination,  move  the  feelings, 
arouse  the  conscience,  and  give  a  powerful  impulse  to 
the  will.  The  preacher  must  use  all  these  avenues  to 
the  souls  of  men,  but  the  accumulation  of  power  through 
thehi  all  must  be  upon  the  will.  He  should  always 
speak  with  a  purpose  to  have  the  soul  decide  for  God. 

The  personcdity  of  the  speaker  is  of  first  importance. 

The  power  to  awaken  the  soul  is  soul  power.  The 
preacher  must  be  genuine,  he  must  avoid  all  artificiality, 
and  he  must  have  clear  convictions  of  truth  to  convince 


HOMILETICS  19 

the  judgment,  a  quick  imagination  to  kindle  the  imagina- 
tion, strong  feelings  to  move  the  feelings,  an  awakened 
conscience  to  arouse  the  conscience,  and  a  powerful  will 
to  give  an  impulse  to  the  will.  He  must  be  swayed  by 
the  truth  if  he  would  bring  others  under  its  power.  A 
strong  personality  exercises  a  kind  of  coercion  over  an 
audience. 

The  mann€7'  of  speaking  is  of  scarcely  less  importance; 
it,  too,  must  be  genuine,  avoiding  all  artificiality.  The 
speaker,  physically  considered,  is  simply  the  channel 
through  which  the  soul  power  moves;  the  channel  must 
not  impede,  but  easily  and  fully  convey.  The  articula- 
tion must  be  easily  understood,  the  tones  of  the  voice 
must  correctly  express  the  feelings,  the  pose  of  the  body 
and  the  gestures  must  naturally  and  fully  convey  thought 
and  feeling.  The  four  languages  of  the  orator  must  be 
at  his  easy  command  :  Articulation,  Tone,  Pose,  and 
Gesture;  and  the  soul  power  should  be  so  strong  that  it 
needs  them  all  to  express  fully  its  message. 

There  are  at  least  four  requisites  to  good  preach- 
ing : 

1.  Piety.  This  furnishes  the  motive  power.  There 
must  be  deep  loyalty  to  Christ,  a  strong  love  for  Him, 
a  sharing  His  love  for  men,  and  a  controlling  moral 
earnestness. 

2.  Natural  Gifts.  These  supply  the  instruments:  clear 
thinking,  strong  feeling,  a  clear  conscience,  a  powerful 
will. 

S.  Knowledge.  This  gives  material.  There  must  be 
thorough  knowledge  of  Bible  truth,  and  a  general  knowl- 
edge of  all  that  can  throw  light  upon  it  and  enforce  it. 
Cicero  says:  ^^The  orator  ought  to  know  everything." 


20    MODEEK  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

If..  Oratorical  8MII.  This  uses  the  power,  the  instru- 
ments, and  the  material  in  the  best  way  to  produce  the 
desired  result.  Without  this  last  the  others  are  in  vain. 
The  preacher  should  labor  earnestly  and  constantly  to 
acquire  oratorical  skill.  He  should  apply  the  principles 
of  rhetoric  and  elocution  to  correct  his  defects;  he  should 
cultivate  his  gifts  so  that  he  becomes  a  good  speaker,  a 
fine  orator.  While  each  preacher  ought  to  be  himself,  not 
another — genuine,  not  artificial — ^he  should  be  the  best 
corrected,  most  highly  developed,  and  most  thoroughly 
Improved  self  that  is  possible.  Each  preacher  must 
think  so  carefully  of  himself,  and  of  his  manner  of  think- 
ing and  speaking,  and  must  practise  so  constantly,  that 
he  becomes  at  length  a  master  of  himself,  having  all  his 
powers  at  full  command  without  conscious  effort.  He 
must  think  of  himself  so  carefully  that  he  can  at  length 
speak  without  thinking  of  himself  at  all. 

Two  powers  are  absolutely  essential  to  the  success 
of  the  preacher  as  of  the  lawyer. 

The  first  concerns  the  subject.  The  lawyer  must  see 
the  point  of  his  case.  So  the  preacher  must  have  the 
power  of  seeing  the  point  of  his  text  or  subject.  How- 
ever little  or  great  this  power  is  to  begin  with,  he  must 
ever  cultivate  it. 

The  second  concerns  the  object.  The  lawyer  has  but 
one  object  in  each  speech,  viz., to  win  his  case,  and  so  to 
win  it  that  he  can  hold  it  against  all  appeal.  So  the 
preacher  should  have  one  object  to  each  sermon:  what  he 
intends  to  accomplish.  Now  the  question  with  the  lawyer 
is  how  to  lodge  the  point  of  the  case  in  the  mind  and 
heart  of  the  jury  or  the  court  so  as  to  win  the  verdict. 
He  resolves  the  point,  or  central  thought,  into  as  many 


HOMILETICS  21 

propositions  as  seems  needed,  and  he  enforces  and  illus- 
trates these  with  the  sole  purpose  of  winning  the  verdict. 
It  is  a  very  poor  comfort  to  him,  as  he  comes  out  of  court, 
to  have  some  one  say  to  him,  '  ^  That  was  a  brilliant 
speech,"  if  he  has  lost  his  cascj  and  especially  if,  on  re- 
flection, he  concludes  that  the  brilliancy  of  the  speech 
was  the  reason  he  lost  his  case.  The  lawyer  is  not  try- 
ing to  show  himself  off,  but  to  win  cases.  So  with  the 
minister;  each  sermon  should  have  a  subject,  and  just  as 
truly  each  sermon  should  have  an  object — both  should  be 
clearly  before  the  preacher's  mind.  A  good  sermon  uses 
the  subject  to  accomplish  the  object — uses  the  Word  of 
God  to  advance  the  cause  of  God,  to  win  the  verdict  for 
Him. 

The  relation  of  a  text  to  a  sermon  is  something 
like  that  of  a  corner-stone  to  a  building,  or  of  a  seed  to 
its  plant.  The  text  is  the  portion  of  Scripture  selected 
to  give  sanction  or  authority  to  the  sermon.  The  sermon 
is  the  development  of  the  truth  of  the  text — an  explana- 
tion, illustration,  and  application  of  the  teaching  of  this 
portion  of  God' s  word. 

The  text  gives  support  to  the  sermon  and  general  out- 
line as  a  corner-stone  does  to  a  building;  it  gives  the 
living  principle  unfolding  according  to  its  own  nature, 
as  a  seed  does  according  to  the  nature  of  its  plant.  The 
sermon  is  an  organization  resting  on  the  text,  or  an 
organism  growing  out  of  the  text.  The  jDreaching  in  the 
early  ages  of  the  Church  was  largely  expository;  it  was 
in  the  nature  of  a  running  commentary  on  the  connected 
thought  or  text  of  the  Scriptures.  During  the  following 
ages  the  comments  lengthened  and  the  Scripture  pas- 
sages shortened,  until  it  reached  the  usage  of  the  present 


22    MODEEN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

day.  It  is  evidently,  however,  an  abuse  of  the  text  to 
use  it  simply  as  a  motto.  Objections  are  sometimes 
made  to  the  use  of  texts,  but  they  arise  generally  either 
from  a  wrong  view  of  the  Bible,  a  lack  of  reverence  for 
it,  or  from  a  wrong  use  of  texts  as  fanciful  interpreta- 
tions (the  spiritualizing  use)  or  as  mere  mottoes. 

The  proper  use  of  texts  is  of  great  advantage  to 
the  preacher;  it  keeps  him  to  the  ideal  of  preaching, 
the  enforcing  Bible  truth;  it  gives  him  a  wide  variety  of 
themes,  keeping  him  from  his  own  narrowness — the 
Word  of  God  is  wider  and  deeper  than  any  man's  mind; 
and  by  faithfully  adhering  to  it  he  becomes  a  specialist 
in  Bible  truths,  and  thus  secures  the  standing  and  power 
of  a  specialist  in  the  community.  Such  usage  is  also  of 
great  advantage  to  the  people  in  that  it  leads  them  to  a 
higher  valuation  of  preaching  as  the  setting  forth  of 
God' s  Word,  and  so  quickens  a  hunger  and  thirst  for 
the  Bible. 

One  general  purpose  should  enter  into  the  selection  of 
texts:  to  neglect  no  teaching  of  God's  Word  on  one 
hand,  and  no  need  of  the  people  on  the  other.  A 
careful  estimate  of  the  need  of  the  people  covers 
both,  calling  for  a  general  and  progressive  teaching 
of  God' s  Word,  while  special  needs  are  met  as  occasion 
arises. 

Having  this  general  purpose,  one  will  instinctively 
avoid  choosing  as  texts: 

(1)  Spurious  passages;  (2)  All  sayings  of  uninspired 
men — these  may  be  true,  but  are  not  distinctively  Bible 
truths  upon  which  to  base  a  sermon — and  (3)  All 
merely  odd  texts.  Wit  or  humor  to  be  of  any  value 
must  be  in  the  nature  of  a  surprise.    There  are  instances 


HOMILETICS  23 

of  both  in  the  Bible.  But  a  text  is  deliberately  chosen 
to  be  explained  and  enforced,  and  odd  texts  are  deprived 
of  their  wit  by  being  made  the  base  of  a  serious  discus- 
sion, and  people  quickly  see  that  such  discussion  is 
foreign  to  the  text. 

The  kinds  of  texts  to  be  chosen,  as  a  rule,  are  clear 
texts  rather  than  obscure,  and  great  texts  rather  than 
small.  To  choose  occasionally  an  obscure  text  is  allowable 
when  one  is  able  so  to  explain  it  as  to  add  materially  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  Bible,  or  when  such  explanation  facili- 
tates approach  to  a  distasteful  subject.  But  in  general 
the  time  and  strength  required  to  explain  an  obscure 
text  might  better  be  given  to  enforcing  a  clear  one.  So 
great  texts  are  to  be  chosen  rather  than  small.  The 
truths  in  the  Bible  of  relatively  small  importance  may 
be  i^roperly  treated  in  a  sermon,  but  should  not  form 
the  basis  of  one.  Select  a  text  whose  truth  is  worth  ex- 
pending all  your  force  upon,  and  whose  consideration  is 
worth  the  careful  attention  of  the  people.  Great  truths 
enlarge  and  enrich  both  pastor  and  people.  They  are 
frequently  familiar  texts,  but  this  should  incite  to  fresh 
and  forceful  treatment.  They  awaken  exx^ectation,  but 
this  should  stimulate  the  preacher  to  his  utmost.  Choose 
great  texts,  and  you  are  saved  from  labor  to  make  a 
small  text  seem  great,  tho  you  must  labor  to  make  the 
sermon  correspond  somewhat  to  the  text. 

The  preacher  has  a  clear  duty  to  his  text.  He 
must  be  absolutely  true  to  the  Word  of  God;  only  thus 
can  he  have  any  self-respect,  or  win  any  respect  from 
God  or  man,  and  only  thus  can  he  win  the  respect  of  the 
people  for  the  Bible.  He  must  never  be  fanciful  with  a 
text.     Saying  that  a  passage    of  God's  Word  means 


24    MODEEN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

what  it  does  not  mean  is  an  inexcusable  error.  He 
should  apply  strictly  scientific  principles  to  the  interpre- 
tation of  a  text.     He  should: 

1.  Ascertain  exactly  all  the  facts  in  the  case. 

2.  State  these  tcith  absolute  candor. 

8.  Draw  only  those  teachings  ivhich  the  facts  impaH. 
He  should  faithfully  take  four  steps  to  discover  the 
meaning  of  the  text: 

1.  Study  the  f^^n^seZ/*  minutely:  its  words,  grammar, 
rhetoric,  and  figure  of  speech. 

2.  Study  the  text  in  its  immediate  connection  in  the 
paragraph  containing  it.  The  Bible  in  general  is  con- 
tinuous writing,  not  a  collection  of  isolated  verses. 

3.  Study  the  text  in  its  larger  connections  in  the  book 
containing  it.  One  should  be  so  familiar  with  the  books 
of  the  Bible,  when  they  were  written,  their  historical 
conditions,  the  aim  and  scope  of  each,  that  but  little 
special  study  would  be  called  for  with  any  particular 
text. 

4.  Study  the  text  in  its  Scriptural  connection.  The 
sixty-six  books  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  have  a 
striking  harmony  of  teaching,  and  each  text  must  be 
viewed  in  the  light  of  this  harmony.  The  only  kind  of 
accommodation  ever  allowable  with  a  text  is  where  the 
principle  clearly  presented  in  the  text  in  one  applica- 
tion has,  with  manifest  propriety,  another  application. 
The  preacher  should  clearly  state  the  reasons  for  this 
further  application. 

Spiritualizing  a  text  is  never  allowable  except  by 
distinct  New  Testament  authority.  There  are,  it  is  true, 
many  foreshadowings  of  Christ  in  the  Old  Testament, 
also  many  Old  Testament  incidents  that  seem  to  have 


HOMILETICS  25 

an  allegorical  reference  to  Christ  and  His  people^  but  it 
is  difficult  for  us  to  exhaust  the  wealth  of  literal  meaning 
of  these  to  the  men  not  only  of  that  day  but  of  this. 
Why  leave  safe  for  uncertain  ground  ? 

The  'New  Testament  gives  examples  of  such  figurative 
usage  (John  i:  51,  viii:56;  I.  Cor.  x:4;  Gal.  iv:  22-26). 
Whatever  the  New  Testament  so  uses  is  clearly  allegor- 
ical. That  which  seems  jDrecisely  similar  to  us  may  be 
allegorical  and  it  may  not.  Our  fancy  and  desire  to  make 
a  i^oint  effective  need  to  be  held  in  check  by  New  Testa- 
ment authority.  It  is  unsafe  for  us  to  claim  the  right  to 
find  a  spiritual  sense  beyond  the  literal  meaning  of  a  text, 
because  Our  Savior  and  the  ai)Ostle  Paul  exercised  such 
aright.  To  use  such  events — e.g.,  many  experiences  of 
the  Israelites  in  the  wilderness  as  illustrating  Christian 
experiences — is  allowable,  if  we  do  not  hint  they  were  so 
intended.  We  are  to  use  them,  then,  as  we  may  use 
events  of  profane  history — as  illustrations  merely.  Since 
the  text  gives  authority  to  the  sermon,  is  its  basis,  the 
truth  in  it  should  be  clear.  We  are  not  to  bring  our 
fancy  to  the  text,  to  find  in  it  what  is  not  there;  we  are 
faithfully  to  set  forth  the  Divine  word  contained  in  it, 
its  clear,  undoubted  meaning — this  and  absolutely  noth- 
ing more.  The  following  usages  of  a  text  of  Scripture 
will  illustrate  the  distinctions  drawn  above: 

Text  (Acts  xxvii  :  29).  They  cast  four  anchors  out  of 
the  stern  and  wished  for  the  day. 

1.  Sjmitualizmg  interpretations.  In  the  storm  of  temp- 
tation and  trial  cast  out  the  four  spiritual  anchors — faith, 
hope,  love,  and  good  living.  This  is  abominable.  The 
text  teaches  nothing  of  the  kind.  A  preacher  can  make 
anything  he  pleases  of  the  Scripture  on  this  theory,  and 


2G    MODERN  PRACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

soon  the  people  will  lose  all  respect  both  for  him  and  for 
the  Bible  itself. 

2.  Accommodation  of  text  The  sailors  used  all  means 
at  their  disposal  and  waited.  So  in  all  storms  assailing 
us  we  should  use  all  means  at  our  disposal  and  wait. 
This  usage  of  a  text  is  at  least  questionable. 

3.  Illustration.  As  they  cast  out  anchors,  so  we  may- 
cast  out — anything  you  please — and  wait.  The  only 
question  now  is  about  the  quality  of  the  illustration, 
not  its  source.  So  we  could  quote  the  lines  of  Homer 
describing  Ulysses  starting  out  '^with  oars  and  with 
sails ' '  to  illustrate  work  and  prayer. 

It  is  most  important  to  use  texts  properly,  not  as  mere 
starting-points  for  flights  of  fancy  or  for  untrained  rea- 
soning, but  as  the  sources  of  the  great  truths  we  carefully 
present  for  the  good  of  the  people. 

Sermons  may  be  classed  with  regard  to  their 
structure,  as  (1)  Text  Sermons,  (2)  Subject  Sermons, 
and  (3)  Expository  Sermons. 

1.  Text  Sermons.  In  the  structure  of  a  Text  Sermon 
the  divisions  come  from  the  text.  There  are  many  evi- 
dent advantages :  the  text  has  a  vital  relation  to  the 
sermon  throughout  j  variety,  freshness,  and  originality 
of  treatment  are  fostered;  and  preacher  and  people  are 
trained  in  the  analysis  of  the  Word  of  God,  and  grow 
in  the  knowledge  and  love  of  the  Bible. 

2.  j^ibject  Sermons.  In  the  structure  of  a  Subject  Ser- 
mon the  text  gives  the  subject,  and  has  no  further  forma- 
tive force;  the  divisions  arise  from  the  subject.  There 
are  some  advantages  in  the  Subject  Sermon:  it  meets  the 
frequent  need  of  a  full  discussion  of  a  complete  doctrine 
or  duty,  and  it  may  be  more  logical  and  tend  to  unity 


HOMILETICS  27 

of  discourse,  and  thus  both  preacher  and  people  may  be 
trained  in  reasoning  power.  The  tendencies  to  lose  vital 
connection  with  the  Word  of  God,  and  to  form  a  stereo- 
typed plan  for  all  sermons,  are  incident  to  this  kind  of 
sermon  structure. 

3.  Expository  Sermons.  In  the  structure  of  an  Exposi- 
tory Sermon,  not  only  the  divisions  but  the  details  of 
treatment  of  each  division  arise  from  the  passage  of 
Scripture,  while  in  a  Text  Sermon  these  details  may 
arise  from  other  sources. 

There  are  several  requisites  to  effective  expository 
sermons: 

1.  Unity.  The  definite  topic  of  the  passage  must  be 
clearly  presented,  and  all  the  matter  must  be  carefully 
arranged  under  it.  There  must  be  one  sermon,  not  a 
number  of  little  sermons. 

2.  Orderly  structure.  The  selection  of  the  most  sug- 
gestive and  important  material  must  be  carefully  made, 
and  this  must  be  arranged  by  one' s  oratorical  instinct. 
It  must  be  a  carefully  prepared  sermon,  faithfully 
wrought  out,  and  not  a  hasty  talk  on  a  passage  of 
Scripture.     It  must  be  a  sermon,  not  a  commentary. 

S.  Keeping  the  teoct  in  the  people^  s  mind.  This  difficulty 
may  be  met  by  having  the  Bible  in  the  pews,  and  by 
constructing  the  sermon  so  as  to  give  occasional  glances 
backward  and  glimpses  ahead. 

4-.  Application  to  present  day  needs.  The  sermon  is 
Scripture  expounded  for  a  purpose.  There  are  many 
advantages  possessed  by  an  expository  sermon:  it  meets 
the  design  of  preaching,  following  the  mode  of  the 
primitive  Church;  it  leads  pastor  and  people  to  take  a 
Scriptural  mode  of  viewing  lifej  it  often  treats  of  truths 


28    MODERN  PRACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

and  duties  not  otherwise  easily  or  gracefully  introduced 
in  the  pulpit,  and  it  lessens  the  tendency  to  allegorize 
and  accommodate  the  Scripture  in  preaching. 

The  Expository  Sermon  should  be  of  the  leading  Scrip- 
ture passages  on  particular  subjects,  and  upon  whole 
books  of  the  Bible  in  course. 

All  of  these  three  kinds  of  sermon  structures  should 
be  followed  by  the  preacher.  The  order  of  importance 
seems  to  be  (1)  Textual,  (2)  Expository,  and  (3)  Sub- 
ject Sermons. 

Catechism  sermons  are  peculiar  to  our  Reformed 
Church,  tho  they  may  well  be  adopted  by  all  churches. 

Our  Church  Constitution  requires  each  pastor  to 
preach  expository  sermons  upon  the  Heidelberg  Cate- 
chism, completing  the  course  once  in  at  least  every  four 
years;  and  the  Catechism  is  divided  into  fifty- two  Lord's 
Days  for  that  puri:>ose.  The  Catechism  affords  a  fine 
opportunity  for  that  progressive  teaching  which  is  de- 
manded by  the  principles  of  pedagogy.  It  thereby  pro- 
motes strong  and  intelligent  convictions,  and,  as  the  dis- 
tinctive spirit  pervading  the  whole  Catechism  from  the 
keynote  struck  in  the  first  question  to  the  last  petition 
of  the  Lord' s  Prayer  is  the  experience  of  the  believer,  it 
also  affords  a  culminating  appeal  to  the  feelings  and  the 
will,  thus  promoting  the  deep  emotions  flowing  from 
strong  convictions.  Catechism  sermons  should  be  thor- 
oughly prepared  expositions.  As  the  preacher  should 
not  merely  talk  upon  a  passage  of  Scripture,  as  he  should 
not  make  a  commentary,  however  learned  and  scholarly, 
upon  such  a  passage,  and  call  either  of  these  a  sermon, 
so  he  should  avoid  doing  either  thing  with  a  ^^  Lord's  Day 
of  the  Catechism."     It  should  be  constructed  according 


HOMILETICS  29 

to  the  principles  just  noted  of  expository  preaching. 
The  following  specific  suggestions  are  of  value: 

Find  out  the  point  or  subject  of  the  ' '  Lord' s  Day  5' '  state 
it  concisely,  clearly,  and  suggestively;  then  treat  it  with 
the  divisions  of  the  Catechism,  selecting  such  details  for 
elaboration,  illustration,  and  appeal  as  your  sermonic 
instinct  decides  will  be  best  adapted  to  attain  the  object 
you  have  in  view — for  this  kind  of  sermon,  like  all 
others,  must  have  not  only  a  subject  but  an  object. 

There  is  in  some  churches  a  dislike  of  Catechism 
preaching,  and  some  of  our  ministers  have  a  prejudice 
against  it.  Both  dislike  and  prejudice  fi^equently  arise 
in  this,  as  in  other  cases,  from  ignorance,  from  Cate- 
chism talks  and  from  Catechism  commentaries,  and  from 
never  having  either  heard  or  tried  a  Catechism  sermon. 
It  is  safe,  however,  to  say  that,  where  real  Catechism 
sermons  are  preached,  both  preacher  and  people  are  as 
well  pleased  and  as  much  i)rofited  by  them  as  by  any 
other  kind  of  sermons,  and  in  many  cases  far  more  so — 
they  are  even  regarded  the  best  sermons  and  waited  for 
eagerly. 

Sermons  may  be  classified  with  regard  to  their 
substance  as  (1)  Doctrinal,  (2)  Practical  or  Moral, 
(3)  Historical,  and  (4)  Experimental. 

Doctrinal.  A  doctrine  is  the  entire  teaching  of 
the  Scripture  on  any  particular  subject,  such  as  sin, 
redemption,  regeneration,  providence,  the  love  of  God, 
the  Divinity  of  Christ. 

Doctrinal  preaching  presents  these  subjects  in  a  way 
to  interest  and  impress  a  popular  assembly.  A  great 
doctrine  can  be  presented  in  one  sermon  in  boldest  out- 
line only,  and  such  presentation  is  frequently  needed. 


30    MODEEN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

It  is  often  needed  also  to  present  only  a  particular  part 
or  aspect  of  a  doctrine. 

Doctrinal  sermons  appeal  to  one  of  the  strongest  char- 
acteristics of  man:  his  desire  to  know,  his  delight  in 
finding  out  important  truths.  Science  has  become 
widely  popular  and  useful  through  its  skilled  advocates 
appealing  to  this  characteristic  of  mankind.  The 
preacher  is  the  skilled  advocate  of  Bible  truths.  If  he 
thoroughly  knows  and  heartily  loves  the  doctrines  of 
Scripture,  he  may  best  meet  and  supply  men's  desire  to 
know  by  preaching  doctrinal  sermons,  for  the  way  to 
reach  and  hold  thinking  men  is  to  give  them  great 
truths  worth  thinking  about.  The  description  already 
given  of  a  sermon  and  of  the  preacher  applies  fully  to 
doctrinal  preaching.  The  preacher  must  be  convinced 
of  a  doctrine,  know  it,  if  he  would  convince  the  judg- 
ment of  his  hearers.  He  must  see  the  doctrine,  his 
imagination  be  filled  with  it,  if  he  would  kindle  their 
imagination.  He  must  love  the  doctrine,  be  moved  by 
it,  if  he  would  move  them.  His  own  conscience  must  be 
alive  to  the  doctrine,  his  own  will  bow  down  to  it,  if  he 
would  arouse  the  conscience  and  sway  the  will  of  others. 
If  the  doctrine  has  possession  of  the  preacher,  it  will  be 
sure  to  get  possession  of  the  people. 

The  use  of  doctrinal  sermons  is  to  convert  and  sanctify 
the  soul:  to  impart  the  truth  so  a  man  knows,  to  enforce 
the  truth  so  a  man  feels  and  acts.  The  preacher  should 
present  the  great  doctrines  frequently,  so  that  the  people 
shall  become  well-informed  and  strong  Christians;  he 
should  present  the  unpopular  doctrines  faithfully  and  ten- 
derly, not  shunning  a  single  important  truth  of  God's 
Word.    He  should,  when  it  is  called  for,  discuss  doctrines 


HOMILETICS  31 

in  opposition  to  errors,  neither  seeking  nor  avoiding  con- 
troversy,  not  advertising  plausible  error  but  leaving  no 
room  for  it,  the  mind  and  heart  being  filled  with  truth. 

Moral  or  practical  sermons  set  forth  the  duties  of 
man  to  man,  individually  and  socially;  they  urge  the 
cultivation  of  the  virtues  proclaimed  in  the  Bible;  they 
seek  to  promote  the  Kingdom  of  God  as  the  ideal  society 
on  earth. 

These  subjects  formed  a  prominent  part  of  the  preach- 
ing of  prophets  and  apostles  and  of  Our  Lord  himself; 
they  should  form  a  prominent  part  of  our  preaching  to- 
day. They  are  based  upon  the  principle  that  religion  is 
an  essential  part  of  virtue,  and  virtue  of  religion;  that 
if  a  man  is  religious  in  one  thing  he  must  be  in  every- 
thing— if  on  the  Sabbath  in  the  church,  then  on  the  week- 
days in  the  family  and  on  the  street;  that  religion  is  the 
motive  power  of  morality.  Such  sermons  are  not  to  dis- 
place doctrinal  sermons,  but  to  flow  from  them;  truth 
exists  in  order  to  be  practised.  Morals  must  be  preached 
not  as  a  substitute  for,  nor  independently  of,  the  Gospel; 
but  they  should  be  so  presented  as  to  lead  all  men  to 
feel  their  need  of  Christ  as  a  Savior,  and  to  stimulate 
those  trusting  in  Christ  to  live  in  a  way  to  honor  Him. 

Such  sermons  should,  when  needed,  teach  politics^  in- 
structing and  urging  men  to  be  controlled  in  their  polit- 
ical action  by  Christian  principles;  they  should  also, 
when  needed,  stimulate  social  reforms,  instructing  and 
urging  men  that  the  teaching  and  spirit  of  Christ  should 
compel  and  control  all  needed  reforms  in  Community, 
State,  and  Nation. 

Historical  sermons  show  the  purpose  of  God  in  the 
events  of  history  as  revealed  in  the  Bible;   they  also 


32    MODEEK  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

analyze  the  character  and  motives  of  raen,  inspired  and 
uninspired,  good  and  bad;  and  they  show  that  all  men 
are  under  the  government  of  God.  There  are  at  least 
three  recisons  to  lead  us  to  pay  much  attention  to  histor- 
ical preaching: 

1.  A  person  is  generally  of  interest  to  all*.  Truths 
personified  or  invested  with  personal  action  are  apt  to 
interest  and  impress  people. 

2.  God  chose  to  reveal  Himself  to  and  through  men. 
These  men  convey  this  revelation  to  us  not  as  bare  state- 
ments, but  as  pulsating  through  their  lives;  their  actions 
and  words  are  charged  with  their  feelings.  Thus  the 
human  element  in  the  Scripture  must  not  be  neglected. 

3.  A  very  large  part  of  the  Bible  is  history  and  much 
of  it  biography  ;  it  forms  a  great  historical  picture, 
grouping  all  its  figures  and  persons  around  a  Supreme 
Person  like  and  yet  unlike  them  all.  So  such  sermons 
become  an  effective  means  of  preaching  Christ. 

Experimental  sermons  treat  of  the  experiences  of 
men  in  receiving  the  Gospel  and  living  according  to  it. 
They  make  the  chief  phases  of  religious  experience  the 
subject  of  careful  discussion — e.g.,  conviction  of  sin, 
conversion,  the  new  life  of  love  and  obedience.  The 
preacher  presents  cases  found  in  the  Bible  and  in  his 
observation,  and  may  refer  to  his  own  experience  when 
this  ^is  called  for  and  when  he  can  do  it  modestly.  He 
should  be  careful  to  avoid  making  the  experience  of 
one  a  standard  for  all.  As  with  the  face,  so  with  the 
soul :  the  great  characteristics  are  alike,  but  the  features 
differ  in  many  shadings  and  expressions.  Experimental 
sermons  are  of  great  importance  in  stimulating  by  the 
force  of  example. 


HOMILETICS  33 

These  four  kinds  of  sermons  frequently  overlap — 
minor  morals  may  often  be  presented  in  historical  ser- 
mons, doctrines  in  experimental  sermons — still  the  kinds 
are  distinct  enough  for  special  consideration.  They 
should  all  be  used  by  each  preacher,  and  the  order  of 
their  importance  seems  to  be  that  in  which  they  have 
been  described. 

Some  ministers  are  often  perplexed  by  the  difficulty 
in  finding  suitable  subjects  for  the  two  sermons  each 
quickly  recurring  Sunday  demands.  Frequently  much 
precious  time  is  wasted  in  floundering  about  in  a  search 
for  them,  and  then,  perhaps,  the  forced  selection  is  not  the 
best  that  might  have  been  made.  In  our  studies  of  the 
English  Bible  we  shall  form  books  of  texts  and  books  of 
subjects,  wUh  sketches  of  plans  of  sermons,  and  such 
books  will  grow  and  their  value  will  increase  in  after 
life. 

In  addition,  our  study  of  Pedagogy  will  teach  us  the 
value  of  progressive  preaching.  ^VTien  each  preacher 
comes  to  consider  the  needs  of  the  particular  church  in 
his  care,  he  will  map  out  courses  of  such  sermons  to 
supply  this  need.  The  special  needs  arising  week  by 
week  must  also  be  met.  If,  also,  each  one  has  a  course 
of  Expository  jpreaching  on  hand,  and  a  course  of  Cate- 
chism preaching,  each  Monday  morning  will  bring  him 
plenty  of  excellent  subjects,  and  he  will  not  have  to 
waste  time  in  searching  for  them. 

Forming  the  plan  of  a  sermon  demands  careful 
attention.  After  selecting  a  text  or  subject  and  deter- 
mining the  kind  of  a  sermon,  the  next  step  is  forming 
the  plan  of  the  particular  sermon. 

The  preacher  is  the  architect,  the  sermon  is  the  build- 


34  MODEEI:^  PEAOTICAL  THEOLOGY 

ing.  The  preacher  is  the  general,  the  sermon  is  the 
army. 

A  sermon  is  not  an  accumulation  of  separate  thoughts, 
like  a  pile  of  stone,  however  fine,  or  a  mob  of  men,  how- 
ever strong;  but  it  is  a  symmetrical  body  of  related 
thoughts.  A  very  important  part  of  the  preacher's 
work  is  organization;  he  must  aim  to  be  a  good  general, 
a  fine  architect.  One  should  seek  the  best  plan,  not  be 
content  with  the  first  plan  he  can  think  of.  If  he  can 
develop  his  talent  for  plan-making  into  genius  he  has  a 
fine  element  of  a  good  preacher.  Genius,  some  one  has 
said,  is  ten  per  cent,  talent  and  ninety  per  cent.  work. 

The  bold  outlines  of  a  plan  should  be  formed  before 
the  work  of  elaborating  begins. 

The  principal  elements  of  a  good  plan  are: 

1.  Unity.  The  thoughts  must  evidently  belong  to  one 
subject. 

2.  Order.  Thought  must  follow  related  thought  natu- 
rally. 

S.  Proportion.  Each  thought  must  be  treated  in  due 
proportion  with  other  thoughts  to  form  a  symmetrical 
whole. 

The  plan  should  have  certain  qualities: 

1.  It  should  be  simjfle.  There  should  be  no  straining 
to  i)roduce  the  startling,  or  that  which  can  not  be  grace- 
fully elaborated. 

2.  It  should  be  strilcmg.  Attention  must  be  awakened 
and  kept  awake;  avoid  the  commonplace. 

3.  It  should  he  fresh — ^have  some  element  of  the  novel 
and  unexpected.  Each  sermon  should  have  its  own 
suitable  plan.  The  preacher  should  avoid  having  one 
plan  for  all  sermons,  should  avoid  a  beaten  track. 


HOMILETICS  35 

A  good  plan  will  be  of  great  advantage  to  the  preacher: 

1.  It  will  aid  his  invention.  Arranging  thought  sug- 
gests thought.  The  mind  moves  along  related  thoughts 
naturally  and  strongly. 

2.  It  will  stir  his  feelings.  Feelings  are  aroused  by 
a  succession  of  suitable  truths,  while  they  are  checked 
by  confused  thoughts. 

3.  It  will  suggest  striking  2>arUcular  thonghts.  The 
flashings  of  genius,  and  the  force  of  such  thoughts  in  a 
sermon  will  be  increased  by  having  them  in  their 
proper  setting. 

4.  It  will  aid  his  wi^?Horz// helping  in  the  delivery  of  a 
written  sermon,  and  it  is  absolutely  essential  to  good 
extemporaneous  preaching. 

A  good  plan  will  also  be  of  great  advantage  to  the 
people: 

1.  It  will  hold  the  attention,  and  please  them.  Dis- 
order confuses  and  repels,  while  order  charms. 

2.  It  will  quicken  the  understanding.  They  will  be 
able  to  follow  clearly  expressed  and  well  related  thought. 

3.  It  will  tend  to  persuasion.  Thoughts  and  appeals 
following  each  other  in  natural  order  have  a  cumulative 
effect. 

4.  It  will  foster  the  remembrance,  both  of  the  sermon 
and  of  its  special  thoughts  and  appeals,  and  so  prolong 
its  effects. 

The  plan  of  a  sermon  embraces  four  distinct  parts : 
Introduction,  Proposition,  Discussion,  Conclusion. 

The  Introduction  should  awaken  favorable  interest 
in  the  subject.  It  should  have  three  characteristics:  it 
should  be  short  and  simple,  so  as  never  to  weary  nor  per- 
plex; it  should  be  strihmg  tho  modest,  exciting  interest 


36    MODEEN  PRACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

only  to  keep  it  alive  and  growing;  and  it  should  be 
approiyriate,  leading  easily  and  naturally  to  the  subject. 
It  is  generally  suggested  by  the  occasion,  the  text,  or  the 
subject,  and  should  be  carefully  prepared. 

The  Proposition  is  the  clear,  concise,  and  suggestive 
statement  of  the  subject.  As  a  rule,  it  should  be  frankly 
announced — the  people  like  to  know  what  the  preacher 
intends  to  speak  about;  it  should  be  so  clear  and  con- 
cise as  to  be  easily  held  in  the  memory,  and  so  suggest- 
ive as  to  awaken  and  hold  attention. 

It  may  be  stated  logically;  then  the  discourse  must  be 
argumentative,  reasons  being  given  to  sustain  the  propo- 
sition. Example,  ' '  Eeligion  produces  happiness. ' '  Or 
it  may  be  stated  rhetorically;  then  the  discourse  must  be 
descriptive  and  illustrative.  Example,  ^  ^  The  happiness 
of  religion. ' ' 

The  Discussion  must  have  movement  and  force,  it 
must  be  instinct  with  life.  Whatever  analysis  there  is 
must  be  in  order  to  synthesis,  the  dividing  must  be  in 
order  to  uniting,  the  discussion  must  be  the  putting  to- 
gether into  a  complete  and  living  whole  of  the  compo- 
nent parts.  The  statement  of  distinctly  marked  divi- 
sions, while  not  necessary,  is  usually  of  service  to  make 
the  train  of  thought  easily  followed  by  the  people,  thus 
leading  to  persuasion,  and  to  compel  the  preacher  to 
completeness  of  treatment.  The  divisions  or  heads 
should  not  be  so  many  as  to  bewilder  the  hearer,  nor  so 
few  as  to  prevent  a  climax,  and  the  statement  of  sub- 
heads should  be  avoided. 

The  essentials  of  the  divisions  are  these:  they  must 
divide,  no  one  must  be  coextensive  with  the  subject;  they 
must  be  distinct,  no  one  must  include  or  overlap  another; 


HOMILETICS  37 

they  must  join  naturally,  the  transition  from  one  to  an- 
other must  be  easy;  they  must  be  in  proper  order,  one 
preparing  for  the  next,  securing  progressive  movement; 
they  must  be  exhaustive,  no  important  part  left  out  or 
neglected;  they  must  increase  in  force,  having  cumulative 
power  and  reaching  a  climax. 

The  Conclusion  gathers  up  the  force  of  the  sermon  in 
a  final  appeal  to  the  will.  Three  elements  should  enter 
into  it: 

1.  Becapitiilation,  not  of  words  but  of  the  force  of 
arguments  and  description. 

2.  Application,  showing  how  the  truth  applies  to  con- 
viction and  conduct.  If  this  has  been  constant  in  the 
sermon  it  must  now  concentrate  in  the  conclusion. 

3.  Feeling,  The  preacher  should  have  his  own  feel- 
ings greatly  excited  by  the  importance  of  the  subject  and 
of  the  issues  at  stake;  he  should  be  sincere  here  as  always; 
he  should  not  be  overcome  by  his  feelings,  but  should 
overcome  his  people  by  them ;  he  should  not  avoid  but 
allow  himself  to  become  an  impassioned  orator,  urging 
motives  and  exciting  feelings  in  his  people.  He  should 
strive  to  arouse  feeling,  not  for  its  own  sake,  but  always 
to  deepen  conviction  and  lead  to  decision,  so  making 
a  final  appeal  to  the  will. 

The  conclusion  must  have  these  qualities: 

1.  It  must  belong  to  the  subject;  must  not  be  general, 
appropriate  to  every  subject,  but  specific,  the  peculiar 
appeal  to  the  will  of  this  single  subject. 

2.  It  should  be  short;  feeling  can  not  be  held  at  a 
high  point  for  a  long  time. 

3.  It  should  be  complete  and  decisive,  the  best  possible 
api)eal  to  the  wiU. 


38    MODEEN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

Great  orators  spend  much  care  on  their  conclusions; 
surely  preachers  should  never  slight  the  culmination  of 
a  sermon. 

The  general  nature  of  the  conclusion  should  be 
determined  before  the  detailed  composition  of  the 
sermon  is  begun,  so  that  every  part  may  be  made 
to  tend  to  it ;  but  the  final  shape  it  shall  take 
should  be  left  for  the  accumulated  force  of  the  sermon 
to  mold. 

The  most  careful  preparation  must  include  the 
largest  liberty  up  to  the  last  moment.  ''What  do  I 
purpose  to  accomplish  by  this  sermon  ?  "  is  the  question 
which  should  guide  the  preacher  from  the  first  to  the 
last  moment  of  the  preparation  and  delivery  of  every 
discourse. 

The  power  of  forming  a  plan  of  a  sermon  is  cultivated 
by  exercise^  which,  therefore,  should  be  constantly  pur- 
sued. The  principles  of  such  formation  apply  to  each 
class  of  sermons  that  we  have  mentioned  as  subject 
classes.  A  text  is  here  suggested  for  exercise  in  each  of 
these  classes: 

Text  Sermon,  II.  Cor.  viii :  9. 

Subject  Sermon,  John  xii:32. 

Expository  Sermon,  Eom.  ii:l-16. 

In  each  case  give: 

V       1.   The  introduction', 

2.  The  proposition; 

3.  The  discussion^  divisions  of,  etc.,  including 

climax; 
Jf.  The  conclusion. 
These  are  only  specimens  of  many  instructive  exercises 
in  the  various  subject  classes. 


HOMILETICS  39 

Two  processes  enter  into  constructing  a  sermon: 

1,  Invention.  The  gathering  of  materials,  the  getting 
something  to  say  that  is  worth  saying. 

2.  Style.  The  manner  of  presenting  materials,  the  say- 
ing that  which  is  worth  saying  in  a  pleasing  and  force- 
ful way. 

The  style  should  be  subordinate  to  the  invention  and 
suitable  to  it;  polish  is  good  if  applied  to  a  diamond,  but 
it  is  wasted  on  a  pebble. 

The  inventive  or  creative  power  is  developed  in 
three  ways: 

1.  By  acquisition]  the  gaining  stores  of  knowledge  by 
close  observation  of  nature,  men,  and  events,  and  by  the 
careful  reading  of  the  best  books.  We  should  be  great 
readers  of  the  deathless  works  both  of  religion  and  of 
general  literature.  Great  thoughts  quicken  the  mind  to 
its  best  thinking. 

2.  By  reflection  on  the  value  and  bearing  of  the  ac- 
quired facts  and  ideas;  not  merely  thinking  the  thoughts 
of  great  thinkers  after  them,  but  pointing  these  in  direc- 
tions of  which  their  originators  never  dreamed,  and 
using  them  as  the  starting-points  of  thought  purely  our 
own.  This  second  mode  of  develoi)ment  must  be  the 
inseparable  companion  of  the  first. 

3.  By  exercise  in  constantly  creating  sermons.  There 
are  creative  moods  when  a  sermon  fairly  flashes  into 
existence;  these  become  rare  if  we  wait  for  them,  and 
more  frequent  as  our  deep  interest  in  our  work  and  our 
will  j)Ower  compel  us  to  form  a  growing  habit  of  ser- 
monizing. We  must  cultivate  the  sermonic  instinct  of 
incessant  observation,  reflection,  and  construction,  so 
that  every  scene,   incident,   or  person  met  with,   and 


40    MODEEN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

every  book  read,  is  made   to   contribute  material  for 
sermons. 

Gathering  materials  from  the  Bible  should  be 
constantly  pursued  in  at  least  four  ways: 

1.  By  general  reading^  becoming  familiar  with  the 
scope  of  each  book,  with  the  historical  persons  and 
events  described,  and  with  the  great  thoughts  of  the 
great  teachers  of  all  the  ages. 

2.  By  the  special  study  of  selected  passages,  either  by 
books  or  topics,  thoroughly  and  constantly  pursued. 

3.  By  memorizing  choice  passages,  the  commands  and 
promises  of  God,  and  the  devotional  sayings  of  the  saints 
of  old. 

4.  By  the  special  study  of  texts  for  sermons.  The  use  of 
commentaries  should  be  to  stimulate  our  thought,  to  find 
out  what  we  can  not  solve  unaided,  and  to  illumine  the 
dark  places.  But  we  should  go  to  the  Bible  first,  should 
exercise  our  full  powers  first,  before  calling  for  their  aid. 
The  commentary  should  never  be  a  substitute  for  our 
thinking,  but  an  incentive;  think  first,  then  call  the  best 
commentary  to  help  you  to  think  further  and  more 
clearly. 

The  gathering  of  materials  is  of  little  avail,  except  as 
a  mental  exercise,  unless  they  are  kept  at  hand  ready  for 
use.  There  are  at  least  three  distinct  methods  of 
storing  and  arranging  sermon  materials: 

1.  The  Spontaneous  Method.  This  cultivates  the  mem- 
ory and  invention  through  the  preacher's  reliance 
entirely  upon  them.  In  i)reparing  sermons  each  week 
use  up,  so  far  as  possible,  the  results  of  the  week's 
thought  and  reading.  Hold  what  is  left  over  in  reserve 
for  some  future  occasion,  to  recall  as  it  is  needed. 


HOMILETICS  41 

2.  The  Scientific  Method.  Clip  from  papers,  and  make 
notes  of  reading  and  observations  on  slips  of  paj^er. 
Allow  these  to  accumulate  for  several  days.  Then  re- 
ject the  worthless  and  classify  the  worthy,  and  have  this 
classification  arrange  itself  alphabetically,  either  by  the 
envelope  or  desk  pigeon-hole  system. 

S.  The  Business  Method.  Have  small  note-books — one 
in  the  pocket,  one  on  the  study  table,  perhaps  one  in 
the  bedroom.  Eufus  Choate  used  to  retain  the  bright 
thoughts  which  visited  him  in  the  night-watches  by 
lighting  a  candle  and  putting  them  on  paper  at  once. 
Whatever  is  striking  in  observation,  thought,  or  read- 
ing enter  in  one  or  other  book  at  once,  concisely  or  by 
leading  words,  with  reference  to  book  or  circumstances. 
This  is  the  day-book  department.  Have  two  other  and 
much  larger  books  to  be  used  as  the  business  man's 
ledger-book.  One  book  should  be  of  Classified  Subjects. 
The  other  book  one  of  Texts  for  Sermons.  Once  each 
week  take  time  to  look  over  the  day-books  carefully,  re- 
ject all  that  on  second  thought  seems  of  little  worth, 
gather  all  worth  preserving,  and  arrange  these  in  one  or 
other  or  both  of  the  ledger-books. 

It  is  well  to  keep  also  a  book  of  Texts  and  Plans  of 
Sermons.  In  creative  moods  a  suggestive  text  and  sub- 
ject, j)erhaps  an  entire  plan  of  a  sermon,  will  flash  u^on 
us.  These  should  be  preserved,  and  space  left  in  the 
Book  of  Texts  for  changes  and  additions.  Then  what- 
ever occurs  under  either  of  the  three  methods,  and  is 
seen  to  apply  to  some  text  or  plan  of  sermon  in  the 
Book  of  Texts,  should  be  entered  at  once  in  the  proper 
place.  A  system  of  cross-references  will  iDrevent  the 
repeated  use  of  some  striking  incident  or  thought. 


42  MOPKK^N    rKAi^rUWK    Til  F,01.0(;  V 

Plag'iarism  shouKl  Iv  iustiiu'tivoly  avoiiloil.  Ho  who 
piViU'hos  (ho  (ruth  must  bo  (ruo  t<>  hiinsolt*.  to  othors, 
niul  to  his  poopU^  in  (ho  siuh(  ot*(iO(h  Novor  borrow  an 
ou(iiv  sornuMi,  uot  onou  its  plan  or  iMidino,  tMthor  with 
or  without  aoknowloiiiiuuMit,  It  u\ay  l>o  ovor  so  niuoh 
Ivttm-  than  any  you  I'ouhi  uiakt\  but  i(  is  not  youi*s. 
Your  duty  is  to  uiNO  your  thouuht  aud  t^xporiouoo  ot* 
(uhI's  truth  to  tho  poopU\  aud  ouly  by  doing  this  oau 
you  boooiuo  a  ui^oil  sornioui/.or,  havo  a  i;ood  oonsoionoo. 
and  Iv  a  cood  man. 

Whou  iu  your  sorniou  you  tako  (ho  thouiiht  ot'auothor 
as  ho  has  oxprossod  it,  you  shouUl  niako  tull  aokuowl- 
odgniout  oithor  in  tho  words  "as  anothor  has  siuil,"  or 
by  li'iving'  tho  namo  of  tho  author.  l>ut  it"  tho  thoui^ht 
has  Ivon  workod  ovor  and  put  iu  now  relations,  and  if 
it{<i  form  of  oxprossion  has  boon  matorially  ohanjrod,  you 
havo  thou  no  right  to  attribu(o  i(  toanothor.  Your  own 
work  in  both  rospoots  should  bo  so  (horongh  as  to  mako 
tho  thought  iu  its  now  relation  aud  dross  poouliarly 
yonr  own. 

Orig"inality  is  fostorod  iu  throo  ways: 

I.  By  Iviug  lUblioal  proaohors.  Tho  Kiblo,  liko  natnro, 
is  exhaust  loss,  and  by  having  it,  studying  it.  h>okiug  at 
it  with  our  own  eyes,  taking  our  own  views  of  it.  we 
shall  oateh  something  o(  its  freshness  and  tulnoss. 

'2.  vHy  plaeiug  tho  thoughts  oi'  others  in  now  rohUions 
and  in  ohangod  eonditions  and  under  our  own  tt^ts. 
They  will  thus  bo  ohangod  so  that  those  who  started 
them  would  not  reev>gui/o  thom  or  make  any  claim  to 
them. 

o.  Hy  seeking  fresh  ways  o(  presenting  <^ld  truths  to 
moot  tho  needs  and  onltnro  of  tho  present  day.      Hiblieal 


profwiiirij^  and  th^i  ah.s^>rbint^  f]^.Hin-.  t/>  win  k<'>u1k1o  ("'hrist 
wiJJ  both  i'ohUtr  orif^inality  anr]  j^uurd  a^'ainsl  ifn[>ro[>cr 
WinHationuliwn. 

The  Uiroi5  rnairj  iLS<iS  of  rnaU^riaJs  in  a  Mtrnjon  ant  for 
eurpJ/rn/itlon,  arf/v/m/mt,  and  UluHiratAon. 

Explanation.  i'n?jw;hinj<  ought  to  !><•.  ^nJjn^.nt.ly  in 
Htru(div(\  'J  h<:  pftoplct  r\(c([  the  pnncMcul  <;xj>lanat,ion 
both  of  truth  and  of  duty.  T\ut  way  of  HJilvation  mast 
Ixj  iiiiuht  plain.  \WSont  appf-ais  to  r-x^rnr*.  to  Cliriist  and 
to  follow  Jlirn  rtan  be.  r-JT'cctivf^ly  [imwtnt^td,  <'Jhriht  rnuHt 
b<i  made,  krjown,  and  how  to  ronjc*  to  ifinj  and  to  follow 
Jlirn  njijst  be.  <-,;:plaJrn;d.  'Hk-,  tli/rtc.  principal  ways  of 
cxplairjing  a  t/;xt  or  Hubjf^^.'t  an*: 

y.  Jiy  d/^Jinllion,  whjfjj  niarks  tlj<-.  iinjits  of  tint  hubj^^ct 
and  w;tH  it  apart  frorrj  aJJ  othf^rH.  ifcre  w(j  hhould  be 
positivo  rather  than  negative;  we  should  say  what  the 
tfjxt  means,  rjot  spend  time  and  strerjglh  irr  SJiying  what 
it  do(jH  not  rnearj — an  int/irmirrable  arrd  thank h^ss  f^a^k 
resulting  only  in  killing  tirn(^  it  is  of  great  value  t/> 
T>oth  prea^;her  arjd  j^eojile  to  know  clearly  the  point  of 
th(j  text  or  subje/:t. 

2.  Jiy  exawpUi  frmfi  ohnf^rvation.  History,  especially 
from  the  Bible,  should  be  apposite  to  the  subjc^l  and 
Buitabie  U)  the  audienw*. 

S.  Jiy  comporm/rijf,  whirh  sljoujd  b^tderived  from  rnat- 
terH  familiar  to  the  pr^ople. 

Explanation  should  airn  to  make  the  Bcripture  mean 
ing  clear  that  the  w;rmon  may  (tni'onya  it.  ^J'he  prowess  of 
exegesis  should  be  thorough,  but  rigidly  (yoniincAi  U)  the 
study;  only  the  results  should  be  brought  int/>  the  pul- 
pit, and  not  all  the  results,  but  only  thos^^  which  the 
Wir-mon    enforcers.      The   nar-ration    of  Hcrifitrrre   events 


44       moder:n^  pbactical  theology 

should  be  brief  and  vivid;  here  also  only  those  features 
of  the  events  should  be  selected  that  the  sermon  is  to 
impress  upon  the  congregation.  Many  narratives  in  the 
pulpit  are  too  long  drawn  out  and  needlessly  minute. 

DescinxMon  of  Scripture  scenes  should  stimulate  the 
Imagination  to  see  them;  but  this,  too,  should  always 
be  subordinate  to  the  purpose  of  the  sermon.  Try  to 
see  clearly  and  describe  suggestively,  learn  to  paint  word 
pictures  effectively,  but  never  for  the  sake  of  the  pic- 
tures, only  for  the  desired  impress  of  the  sermon. 

Argument.  There  ought  to  be  a  great  deal  of  argu- 
ment in  preaching.  It  meets  man's  natural  love  for 
reasoning,  and  it  is  needed  to  convince  of  truth  and  to 
deepen  such  conviction.  It  also  guards  the  preacher 
against  relying  wholly  upon  authoritative  assertion  and 
impassioned  appeal.  The  preacher  should  be  an  able 
advocate  of  the  cause  of  Christ,  he  should  argue  for 
Him  in  a  way  to  convince  and  persuade. 

We  are  not  to  argue,  however,  simply  from  the  love 
of  it  or  to  show  off  our  reasoning  iDOwers,  but  only  for 
the  establishment  of  important  truth  not  generally 
acknowledged.  The  existence  of  God,  the  supremacy 
of  man's  moral  nature,  and  the  authority  of  Scri^Dture 
are  so  generally  acknowledged  that  they  may  usually  be 
made  the  basis  rather  than  the  subject  of  argument. 
The  spirit  which  pervades  argument  should  always  be  a 
friendly  one.  The  proposition  to  be  upheld  should 
always  be  stated  in  a  way  to  awaken  favor,  not  opposi- 
tion, and  this  attitude  should  be  maintained  through  the 
whole  argument;  the  aim  of  the  preacher  is  to  convince, 
not  to  stir  the  mind  to  resist  conviction. 

We  should  also  cultivate  the  spirit  of  fairness^  and 


HOMILETICS  45 

should  never  attempt  to  evade  the  rule  that  the  burden 
of  proof  is  upon  him  who  alleges.  The  preacher  should 
be  fair  above  the  slightest  suspicion,  since  his  iDosition  in 
the  pulpit  does  not  allow  an  immediate  answer  to  be 
made  to  his  argument.  He  should  never  take  advantage 
of  this  position  or  abuse  it. 

It  is  imi^ortant  to  be  familiar  with  the  principal  kinds 
of  arguments — at  any  rate,  their  usual  features — and 
with  the  laws  of  reasoning  upon  which  they  are  based. 

The  a  priori  argument  is  from  cause  to  effect.  The 
rule  is,  there  must  be  sufficient  power  in  the  cause  to 
produce  the  effect,  and  there  must  be  nothing  to  hinder 
its  operation  in  the  case  under  consideration. 

E.g.  The  ajmori  argument  for  miracles: 

1.  God's  power  is  sufficient. 

2.  The  occasion  is  worthy. 

3.  The  miracles  in  question  are  in  harmony  with 

the  character  of  God  and  the  nature  of  the 
occasion.     There  is  good  reason  for  them. 

The  a  posteriori  argument  is  from  effect  to  cause. 
The  same  rule  applies  as  in  a  priori  argument. 

Kg.  The  a  posteriori  argument  for  the  existence  of 
God.  The  existence  of  nature,  with  its  myriad  forces 
and  laws  and  of  mental  and  moral  beings,  finds  a  suffi- 
cietit  and  worthy  cause  in  God  alone. 

A  deductive  argument  is  from  generals  to  particu- 
lars. The  rule  is,  the  general  truth  must  be  accepted, 
the  inference  of  the  particular  truth  must  be  carefully 
made,  and  when  possible  it  should  be  compared  with 
well-known  facts. 

E.g.  All  Scripture  is  true.  This  particular  doctrine 
is  from  Scripture.     Therefore,  this  doctrine  is  true.     It 


46  MODEEIS^  PRACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

strengthens  the  argument  to  compare  the  particular  doc- 
trine with  facts  in  nature  and  with  other  Scripture. 
Much  preaching  is  of  this  character. 

An  inductive  argument  is  from  particulars  to  gen- 
erals. The  rule  is,  the  observation  should  be  carefully 
made  and  of  a  sufficient  number  of  particulars,  and  then 
the  inference  of  a  general  or  common  truth  should  be 
clear  and  beyond  question. 

This  is  popular  in  use,  but  there  is  grave  danger  of 
imperfect  observation  and  hasty  judgment.  E.g,  Several 
pastors  have  gained  a  favorable  hearing  of  the  Gospel 
with  several  men  by  smoking  with  them.  Therefore, 
smoking  is  an  attractive  habit  of  a  pastor  and  a  means 
of  grace.  The  observation  is  not  thorough,  the  pastors 
may  have  had  other  charms;  nor  is  it  wide  enough, 
either  of  pastors  or  of  men;  and  so  the  judgment  is  hasty 
and  defective. 

The  argument  from  analogy  is  at  best  a  supposition 
and  needs  to  be  confirmed  by  other  arguments.  The 
rule  is,  that  it  becomes  strong  when  it  is  based,  not  on 
resemblance  of  properties,  but  on  correspondence  of 
relation. 

E.g.  The  process  of  growth  which  prevails  in  vege- 
table, animal,  and  mental  life  may  be  supposed  by  a  just 
analogy  to  prevail  in  the  next  higher  grade  of  life — the 
spiritual  life  of  the  individual  and  of  society. 

The  argument  from  testimony  must  observe  the 
rules  of  evidence  in  courts  of  law;  it  depends  upon  the 
character  and  clearness  of  the  witnesses.  The  witnesses 
must  be  truthful,  intelligent,  must  have  observed  care- 
fully, and  must  be  independent.  The  more  improbable 
is  the  thing  to  be  proved  the  stronger  must  be  the  evi- 


HOMILETICS  47 

dence.  The  testimony  of  witnesses  should  be  strength- 
ened by  circumstantial  evidence  when  possible. 

E.g.  The  resurrection  of  Christ  is  attested  by  such 
witnesses,  and  by  facts  that  can  not  be  otherwise  ac- 
counted for. 

The  diiferent  kinds  of  arguments  should  not  be  mixed: 
one  should  be  finished  before  another  is  begun.  The 
order  in  which  they  should  be  used  is  either: 

1.  That  of  preparation,  one  leading  to  and  preparing 
for  the  other,  or 

2.  That  of  strength,  the  weaker  followed  by  stronger 
until  a  climax  is  reached. 

The  Scripture  argument  should  always  have  the  place 
of  honor.  If  it  must  be  introduced  at  the  beginning,  as 
is  often  the  case,  then  bring  in  the  other  arguments  as 
tributary  to  it,  or  bring  it  in  again  by  recapitulation  as 
a  climax  and  enlarge  upon  it  at  the  last. 

Refutation  should  be  very  carefully  used.  The  best 
way  to  refute  an  error  is  to  fill  the  mind  with  the  oppo- 
site truth  so  there  is  no  room  for  it,  without  so  much  as 
mentioning  the  error.  You  are  not  seeking  to  acquire  a 
reputation  as  a  reasoner,  but  to  keep  your  people  from 
error;  it  is  not  advisable,  therefore,  simply  for  purposes 
of  academic  refutation,  to  mention  an  error  which  may  be 
unknown  to  many,  and  so,  perhaps,  spread  it.  If  you  are 
forced  to  mention  the  error,  state  it  fairly  and  deal  with 
it  strongly.  Show  that  it  necessarily  leads  to  an  ab- 
surdity— ^^reductio  ad  absurdum" — or  that  it  is  incon- 
sistent with  the  views  of  the  people  addressed — ^^ad 
hominum" — or  take  the  offensive,  and  show  that  the 
supposed  error  is  a  proof  of  the  truth. 

E.g.     The  discrepancies  of  the  Gospel  narratives  are 


48    MODEEN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

of  such  slight  details  as  to  show  the  independence  of  the 
witnesses  agreeing  ui^on  the  great  facts. 

Illustrations  are  of  great  value,  particularly  with  a 
popular  audience,  and  they  are  acceptable  to  the  most 
cultured.  There  should  be  enough  illustration  in  every 
sermon  to  give  proper  luster  to  it.  The  number  and 
character  of  the  illustrations  should  always  depend  upon 
the  requirements  of  the  subject;  they  are  not  ends  in 
themselves,  but  means  to  an  end. 

The  preacher  deals  with  spiritual  subjects  which  it  is 
often  difficult  to  make  clear  to  the  people.  He  of  all 
public  speakers  has  the  most  need  of  choice  illustrations. 
Our  Savior,  the  greatest  of  all  preachers,  made  great  use 
of  illustration  to  render  plain  and  to  enforce  spiritual 
truths.  Generally  one  illustration  for  a  particular  truth 
is  enough;  from  many  at  hand  select  the  best  rather  than 
give  several.  A  sermon  should  never  be  overloaded 
with  illustrations.  The  main  uses  of  illustrations  are: 
(1)  to  explain  that  which  needs  explanation;  (2)  to 
adorn  when  the  subject  needs  to  be  made  attractive  with 
beauty;  (3)  to  enforce  an  argument,  adding  to  it  a  kind 
of  proof;  (4)  to  arouse  the  feelings,  but  only  for  the 
puri^oses  of  the  sermon;  (5)  to  awaken  the  attention 
which  may  have  become  wearied;  and  (6)  to  fix  the 
truth  in  the  memory  by  means  of  the  illustration.  It  is 
well  to  ask  of  each  truth  presented  in  the  sermon  if  it 
nee\ls  illustration  for  any  of  these  reasons,  and  to  seek  to 
supply  the  need.  It  is  well  also  to  think  by  means  of 
illustrations,  thus  making  clear  spiritual  truths  to  our 
minds  and  impressing  them  ui^on  our  own  hearts.  Illus- 
trations which  have  served  this  purpose  for  ourselves 
will  be  apt  to  serve  others  as  well. 


HOMILETICS  49 

It  may  help  to  gather  illustrations  to  glance  at  some 
of  the  fields  where  they  abound,  and  where  the  observ- 
ing mind  and  the  sermonic  instinct  will  find  selection  a 
pleasure. 

Suman  Life.  The  tender  and  the  homely  incidents 
and  feelings  are  often  most  effective. 

History — especially  Biography.  Here  the  human  ele- 
ment is  large,  and  so  of  great  interest.  Care  should  be 
taken  to  be  accurate  and  free  from  exaggeration.  If 
the  history  of  the  day  or  of  recent  times  be  used,  care 
should  be  taken  not  to  arouse  poj)ular  prejudices, 
which  may  set  the  people  against  the  tiuth  you  seek  to 
commend. 

Anecdotes.  These  have  been  fearfully  abused;  still, 
they  have  excellent  qualities.  They  should  be  true  if 
told  as  true.  A  made-up  anecdote  may  be  true  to 
nature  and  effective,  but  its  fictitious  nature  should  be 
confessed.  There  is  greatest  value  in  a  finely  imagined 
incident.  We  may  not  draw  such  fine  pictures  or  make 
such  striking  parables  as  our  Savior  did,  but  we  should 
surely  follow  His  example  in  doing  the  best  in  our 
power. 

Nature.  The  love  of  nature  will  gather  many  illustra- 
tions of  spiritual  truth  from  God's  book  of  material 
truths;  these  often  seem  to  be  spiritual  truths  made 
visible. 

The  Sciences.  It  is  well  to  have  a  general  knowledge 
of  the  sciences,  and  to  be  well  acquainted  with  some 
particular  one  or  more  of  them.  Splendid  and  inviting 
illustrations  abound  on  every  hand;  but  one  who  uses  a 
scientific  truth  should  be  accurate  in  stating  it,  and  often 
there  is  need  that  he  should  sufficiently  describe  it  to 


50    MODEEN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

make  his  people  see  the  force  and  beauty  of  its  illustra- 
tive power. 

Literature  and  Art.  One  should  be  a  lover  of  the  best 
literature  and  art^  familiar  with  the  best  fiction  and 
poetry.  Thus  his  own  imagination  will  be  cultivated, 
his  own  sense  of  the  beautiful  made  keen,  and  his  mind 
stored  with  fine  illustrations. 

Poetry  is  particularly  effective  if  rendered  well,  but 
the  quotation  should  be  short.  Painting  and  statuary, 
if  well  described,  afford  fine  illustrations. 

Scripture.  The  incidents  of  the  Scripture  should  be  so 
familiar  to  the  preacher  that  this  rich  field  is  to  him 
the  constant  source  of  suitable  illustrations. 

This  glance  at  these  many  fields  will  be  of  value  to 
stimulate  us  to  seek  great  variety  in  our  use  of  illustration. 
We  will  be  guarded  against  the  frequent  use  of  anecdotes 
or  any  other  special  kind  if  we  recognize  how  varied  and 
rich  are  the  treasures  of  illustrations  that  are  open  to  us. 

Exercises.  Find  an  illustration  for  each  head  of  this 
sermon  plan: 

Introduction.     The  joy  of  saving. 

Proposition.     Salvation  from  sin. 

Divisions:  («)  Salvation  planned  in  heaven. 

(h)  Salvation  executed  by  Christ  on  earth. 
(c)  Salvation  applied  by  the  Holy  Spirit 
^  to  the  believer. 

{d)  Salvation  manifested  in  the  life  of  the 

believer, 
(e)  Salvation  completed  in  glory. 

Conclusion.     The  blessedness  of  being  saved. 

The  study  of  sermons  of  the  great  preachers  is  com- 
mended, to  see  how  they  think  and  feel,  and  how  they 


HOMILETICS  51 

arrange  their  materials  to  accomplish  their  purpose. 
But  the  study  of  the  masterpieces  should  not  lead  us  to 
be  copyists  either  in  form  or  substance,  but  should 
stimulate  in  us  our  individuality.  An  excellent  exercise 
is  to  take  the  text  of  some  great  sermon,  and  do  our  best 
with  a  sermon  on  that  text;  then  compare  our  sermon 
with  the  masterpiece.  We  suggest  for  exercise  in  the 
classroom  a  few  such  sermons  from 

Beecher,  Brooks,  Spurgeon,  and  Eobertson. 
The  object  of  the  sermon  is  of  supreme  importance. 
The  attention  we  pay  to  selecting  a  subject,  to  forming  a 
plan,  and  to  gathering  and  arranging  the  materials  of  a 
sermon  is  all  for  the  sake  of  the  object.  A  sermon  that 
has  no  object  is  fatally  defective,  is  no  sermon  at  all. 
^'What  do  I  intend  to  do  with  this  sermon?"  is  the 
question  which  should  direct  every  step  from  start  to 
finish.  This  controlling  purpose  should  be  one  the 
Savior  approves.  To  seek  to  entertain  the  people  with 
a  fine  literary  production,  to  awaken  their  admiration 
by  eloquence,  to  charm  them  with  deep  thinking  and 
strong  reasoning,  are  purposes  which  will  not  bear  His 
scrutiny  now  or  at  the  Judgment  Day.  We  should 
never  allow  ourselves  to  drift  toward  such  objects.  The 
object  of  every  sermon  should  be  either  to  lead  souls  to 
trust  in  Christ,  or  to  lead  them  to  grow  like  Him  in  some 
virtue  and  obey  Him  in  some  duty.  There  should  be  but 
one  object,  one  controlling  purpose,  to  each  sermon;  this 
should  not  be  tacked  on  to  the  end,  ^^a  word  in  con- 
clusion," but  should  dominate  the  whole  sermon,  its 
plan,  its  materials,  the  whole  treatment;  not  merely 
here  and  there  should  appear  '  ^  a  word  of  application, ' ' 
but  the  whole  sermon  should  be  an  application  of  truth 


52    MODEEN  PKACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

for  a  purpose.  There  may,  of  course,  be  related  objects 
to  the  dominating  one,  but  the  main  purpose  should 
have  full  possession  of  preacher  and  sermon  throughout. 
This  one  purpose  in  a  sermon  should  be  the  purpose  God 
has  in  sending  His  messenger  to  the  people  at  that  par- 
ticular time,  one  we  can  bring  to  God  in  prayer,  one  we 
are  sure  the  Holy  Spirit  fills  with  His  power. 

There  should  be  many  purely  evangelistic  sermons j 
these  should  not  be  exclusively  or  even  mainly  given  at 
the  evening  service,  but  should  be  delivered  also  in  the 
morning,  when  the  whole  congregation  is  present.  Mem- 
bers of  the  church  need  to  renew  their  allegiance,  and 
to  be  impressed  with  the  duty  of  leading  others  to 
Christ,  and  they  require  direction  in  that  work.  Be- 
sides, members  of  the  church  should  constantly  bring 
their  children  and  their  friends  and  acquaintances  to 
the  morning  service.  So,  also,  the  evening  service  should 
not  be  purely  evangelistic.  Members  of  the  church 
should  be  encouraged  to  attend,  for  oftentimes  a  strong 
presentation  of  a  Christian  virtue,  a  feature  of  the 
Christlikeness,  forms  an  incentive  to  the  believer  as 
well  as  an  appeal  to  the  unconverted. 

The  minister  should  irdj  the  same  attention  to  evening 
service  as  to  the  morning,  and  should  present  as  large  a 
variety  of  both  his  subjects  and  objects  at  that  service. 
In  b6th  classes  of  objects  the  final  appeal  is  to  the  will, 
to  bring  it  into  complete  and  loving  allegiance  to 
Christ.  The  mind  must  be  addressed  and  convinced,  but 
convictions  of  the  mind  must  become  i)rinciples  of  action. 
The  feelings  must  be  addressed,  tho  not  for  themselves 
alone;  they  are  solicitors  of  the  will — the  heart  is  often 
the  main  aj^peal  to  the  will.     The  conscience  is  to  be 


HOMILETICS  53 

addressed,  that  it  may  exercise  all  its  influence  upon  the 
will.  Appeals  to  memories,  kindling  of  the  imagina- 
tion, presentation  of  motives — all  are  to  be  brought  to 
bear  upon  the  will.  Information  of  how  duties  are  to  be 
performed  helps  the  will  to  command  their  performance. 
We  should  never  think  of  a  sermon  as  an  end  in  itself, 
but  only  as  a  means  to  an  end;  this  object  is  the  one  for 
which  our  Lord  sent  us  out  to  preach,  and  for  it  we  must 
account  to  Him  alone. 

The  object  of  the  sermon  must,  therefore,  be  charged 
with  the  personality  of  the  preacher,  as  a  messenger  of 
God  bringing  His  message  to  the  people.  The  preacher 
should  never  proclaim  a  truth  he  does  not  believe; 
should  never  strive  to  awaken  feeling  he  does  not  feel; 
should  never  urge  to  a  duty  he  does  not  try  to  do;  should 
never  seek  to  bring  his  hearers  to  a  decision  which  he 
himself  does  not  decide.  He  should  preach  to  himself 
successfully  before  he  can  hope  for  success  in  preaching. 

His  preaching  must  be  in  line  with  his  experience.  Of 
course  he  is  to  hold  up  the  loftiest  ideals,  but  these 
ideals  should  differ  from  his  experience  only  in  degree, 
never  in  kind.  He  must  not  be  standing  still,  or  pro- 
ceeding in  the  opposite  direction,  or  sheering  off  to  one 
side;  he  must  be  going  in  line  with  the  ideal,  and  as 
close  to  it  as  possible.  This  rule  of  absolute  sincerity  in 
preaching  makes  the  preacher  one  man — the  same  man 
in  his  closet,  in  his  study,  in  the  pulpit,  and  among  the 
people. 

The  one  who  has  an  object  in  preaching,  and  who 
devotes  himself  entirely  to  it  in  each  sermon,  may  expect 
results  from  his  preaching  in  lives  changed  to  Christ  and 
consecrated  to  Him.     It  will  be  his  great  privilege  and 


54    MODERN  PRACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

loving  duty  to  follow  such  sermons  with  personal  influ- 
ence directed  to  the  same  object.  Oftentimes  people  are 
impressed  with  God's  claim  on  them,  and  are  ready  to 
decide  to  follow  Christ,  or  to  do  some  particular  Chris- 
tian duty,  but  no  step  is  at  once  taken,  and  the  impres- 
sion passes  in  the  rush  of  daily  life.  An  after-meeting 
following  the  sermon,  or  a  call  upon  the  pastor  by  his 
invitation,  or  a  call  from  the  pastor,  or  some  other  step 
committing  the  one  impressed  to  the  desired  course,  may 
be  the  turning-point  in  his  life  from  the  world  to  Christ, 
or  from  the  state  of  a  dormant  Christian  to  that  of 
an  active  one;  and  the  minister  who  preaches  with  a 
purpose  to  bring  souls  to  a  decision  will  devise  some 
appropriate  means  consistent  with  the  solemnity  and 
importance  of  the  matter  of  helping  his  hearers  to  form 
that  decision. 

The  style  of  a  sermon  is  that  of  oratory  rather 
than  of  literature.  A  book  is  to  be  read;  an  involved 
construction,  a  fine  shade  of  meaning,  a  nice  distinction, 
a  delicate  charm,  a  rare  word,  may  require  a  sentence  to 
be  read  again  that  one  may  pause  and  meditate.  On 
the  other  hand,  a  sermon  is  to  be  heard;  its  meaning  and 
feeling  must  be  caught  at  once;  while  there  may  be  long 
balanced  sentences,  these  should  be  of  a  construction 
that  can  be  easily  grasped  as  rendered  by  the  orator's 
voic^.  Religious  enthusiasm  is  an  excellent  subject  for 
a  sermon  as  well  as  an  essay,  but  the  essay  in  the 
Spectator  on  that  subject  by  Addison,  the  great  master  of 
literary  English,  would  not  be  a  good  sermon. 

There  is  much  truth  in  the  saying  of  the  great  English 
orator.  Fox:  ^' A  speech  that  reads  well  is  never  a  good 
speech. ' '     Reading  and  hearing  are  such  different  mental 


HOMILETICS  55 

acts  that  one  production  will  not  do  for  both.  A  fine 
literary  production  is  out  of  j)lace  in  the  pulpit;  on 
the  other  hand,  a  fine  sermon  seldom  reads  well.  A 
preacher  who  tries  to  preach  literary  sermons  ^ill  be 
apt  to  fail  both  in  literature  and  in  preaching.  Each 
preacher  should  aim  to  have  the  style  of  direct  address. 
It  should  have  at  least  these  three  qualities:  it  should 
be  clear,  strong,  and  pleasing,  both  in  the  choice  of  words 
and  in  the  formation  of  sentences.  Two  things  should 
never  be  admitted  to  the  pulpit:  bad  words  and  poor 
grammar;  vulgar  and  slang  words  and  careless  construc- 
tion of  sentences  should  be  instinctively  avoided.  The 
indi\iduality  of  the  preacher  will  express  itself  not  only 
in  the  substance  but  in  the  style  of  the  sermon. 

The  style  of  address  will  differ  also  in  respect  to 
whether  the  address  is  made  to  the  intellect ,  to  the  feel- 
ings, or  to  the  will.  Still,  whatever  the  individuality  of 
style  or  the  peculiarity  of  address,  these  three  qualities 
should  always  be  present :  Clearness,  Strength,  and  Per- 
suasiveness. 

The  style  must  be  clear,  suitable  at  once  to  the  loftiest 
thought  and  to  the  lowliest  understanding,  suitable  to 
convey  the  thought  from  the  preacher  to  the  audience; 
for  the  choice  of  words  and  their  number  and  grouping 
should  have  sole  reference  to  the  audience.  Thus,  while 
we  may  talk  about  ^  ^  phenomena, "  we  should  never  use 
the  word  to  any  but  a  highly  educated  audience;  while 
we  may  speak  objectively  and  subjectively,  and  may 
reason  inductively  or  deductively,  we  should  never 
inform  our  hearers  that  we  are  doing  so.  We  must 
always  have  enough  words  for  our  thinking  and  feeling — 
as  our  thoughts  and  feelings  are  rich  and  wide,   our 


56    MODEEN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

vocabulary  will  be  large;  but  iu  the  sermou  we  must 
choose  only  those  words  familiar  to  the  people.  People 
cannot  use  a  dictionary  while  listening  to  the  sermon. 

The  style  should  be  strong.  Weak  words  and  vacillat- 
ing sentences  are  out  of  place.  If  you  are  not  sure  of  a 
things  do  not  say  it;  if  you  are  sure  of  it,  say  it  in  strong 
Anglo-Saxon  words. 

The  style  should  be  pleasing.  It  should  not  repel  but 
attract;  it  should  have  the  charm  of  harmony,  of  beauty, 
of  persuasion.  If  there  must  be  denunciation,  let  it  be 
strong,  for  it  is  of  the  hateful;  but  preaching  mainly  is 
of  the  beautiful  and  the  lovely,  and  should  therefore  be 
pleasing. 

The  dramatic  is  often  in  place,  strong  and  pleasing  and 
striking;  the  poetic  is  often  in  place,  the  beautiful 
thought  in  beautiful  form.  The  Prophets,  the  great 
preachers  of  the  Old  Testament,  abounded  in  poetic  and 
dramatic  style,  thus  moving  the  hearts  of  their  hearers. 
The  style  is  not  an  end  in  itself,  but  a  means  to  the  end 
of  reaching  the  people. 

There  are  four  ways  of  cultivating  the  oratorical 
style. 

1.  The  practise  of  thinking  clearly,  strongly,  and  beauti- 
fully. The  substance  will  form  a  garb  suitable  for  itself. 
A  confused  and  involved  style  generally  comes  from  con- 
fused and  involved  thinking;  the  reverse  is  equally  true. 

^.  Careful  and  constant  translation  of  the  classics.  This 
seems  to  have  been  a  favorite  method  of  the  great 
secular  orators.  Cicero  translated  Greek  every  day. 
Many  English  orators  have  pursued  the  practise — 
Brougham,  Canning,  Curran,  Chatham,  Pitt,  Fox,  Pal- 
merston,  and  Gladstone.     Eufus  Choate,  the  ^^  Master  of 


HOMILETICS  57 

Juries/'  translated  Latin  or  Greek  every  day.  The  elo- 
quent Senator  Hoar  recommends  this  as  the  most  impor- 
tant thing  for  a  public  speaker.  The  great  classics  ex- 
press thought  with  precision  and  beauty.  To  grasp  their 
thought  and  then  express  it  as  accurately  and  beau- 
tifully in  our  English,  gives  command  of  the  riches  of 
our  language  and  of  the  forms  of  its  construction. 

3.  Beading  the  best  hooks,  especially  those  of  public 
address,  often  reading  aloud.  One  becomes  familiar 
with  the  sound  of  words  and  their  groui)ings  by  the 
great  masters  of  speech.  It  is  frequently  the  case,  how- 
ever, that  the  great  sermons  and  orations  found  in  books 
are  not  as  they  were  spoken,  but  as  they  were  afterward 
polished  by  their  authors  for  publication;  still,  the  polish 
has  not  entirely  spoiled  them. 

The  best  book  to  read  aloud  for  this  purpose  is  prob- 
ably Shakespeare.  His  plays  were  written  by  the  great 
master  of  our  noble  English  tongue  to  be  spoken  on  the 
stage,  and  one  can  not  read  it  well  without  speaking  it. 
Our  ordinary  conversation  also  should  be  clear,  strong, 
and  pleasing,  and  so  serve  as  a  constant  cultivation  of 
the  style  of  public  address. 

Jf..  Iiimgining  the  i)resence  of  an  audience  as  we  write, 
and  speaking  the  sentence  aloud  as  in  their  presence 
before  we  write  it.  This  leads  to  constructing  sentences 
easily  understood  as  heard  rather  than  as  read. 

There  are  three  methods  of  preparing  a  sermon 
which  affect  its  delivery: 

1.  Writing  it  in  full,  and  reading  it  from  the  manu- 
scrii)t. 

2.  Writing  it  in  full,  and  speaking  it  from  memory. 

3    Thinking  the  sermon  out  without  much  writing, 


58    MODERN  PRACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

and  speaking  it  with  words  chosen  at  the  time  of  speak- 
ing— that  iSj  extempore. 

These  frequently  overlap.  The  preacher  from  manu- 
script may  have  much  in  his  memory.  The  extempora- 
neous preacher  may  have  many  passages  memorized. 

The  individuality  of  the  preacher  will  prevail  in  the 
choice  of  these  methods.  While  they  are  open  to  us  all, 
we  are  to  decide  which  is  the  best  for  each  one.  Each 
method  has  numbered  among  its  followers  many  excel- 
lent i3reachers.  Still,  among  the  three  there  is  certainly 
one  which  may  be  said  to  be  generally  the  best;  each  of 
the  others  may  be  exceptionally  the  best  for  peculiar 
minds. 

The  extemporaneous — that  is,  a  well-prepared  oration 
or  sermon  delivered  in  words  chosen  at  the  time  of 
speaking — has,  without  doubt,  been  the  most  widely  used 
and  the  most  effective.  The  great  Greek  and  Roman 
orators  spoke  generally  in  this  way;  so  also  the  great 
English,  French,  and  American  orators  in  the  Senate 
and  at  the  bar  and  in  political  mass  meetings.  The 
great  orations  of  Moses  and  the  Prophets  in  the  Old  Tes- 
tament, and  of  our  Lord  and  His  Apostles  in  the  New 
Testament,  were  given  in  this  form  at  length;  in  the 
Bible  we  have  simply  the  outline  sketches  of  them. 

The  preaching  in  the  early  Church  was  generally  of 
this  l^ind;  the  early  triumphs  of  Christianity  were  largely 
its  effects.  The  preaching  of  the  missionaries  of  the 
Cross  in  heathen  lands  to-day  is  generally  of  this  kind. 
The  preaching  of  evangelists  in  Christian  lands  is  gener- 
ally of  this  kind,  certainly  so  with  the  most  effective 
exhorters.  It  has  been  the  kind  of  preaching  that  has 
prevailed  generally  in  times  of  revivals. 


HOMILETICS  59 

Written  sermons  read  to  the  people  came  in  general 
use  in  England  in  the  time  of  Henry  VIII.,  and  have 
prevailed  since  in  the  Episcopal  Church.  But  in 
other  lands  the  preaching  of  the  leaders  of  the  Protest- 
ant Eeformation  was  generally  extemporaneous,  and  in 
England,  too,  with  the  above  exception;  and  that  pre- 
vailing in  the  larger  number  of  Protestant  churches  to- 
day the  wide  world  over  is  the  same  kind.  In  choosing 
which  method  we  shall  pursue,  this  splendid  history 
commends  the  extemporaneous  to  us. 

In  making  this  choice,  we  should  also  bear  in  mind 
that  the  object  of  preaching  is  to  reach  through  the  un- 
derstanding, the  feelings,  and  the  conscience  to  the  will, 
constraining  it  to  decide  for  Christ  and  his  service. 
Which  sermon,  the  extemporaneous  or  written,  is  best 
adapted  for  this  purpose  % 

The  style  of  preaching  must  be  oratorical,  the  style  of 
public  address,  rather  than  literary.  Which  method  is 
the  best  to  secure  this  style  ? 

There  are  dangers  connected  with  each  method. 

The  one  choosing  to  icrite  his  sermons  should  guard 
against  the  three  dangers  connected  with  that  method: 

1.  Dangers  connected  tcith  tvriting  itself.  The  saying, 
'^Writing  makes  an  accurate  man,''  is  deceptive;  it  is 
not  the  amount  of  writing,  but  the  kind,  that  develops 
accuracy.  A  great  amount  of  writing  tends  to  make  one 
hasty,  superficial,  and  slovenly  both  in  thought  and  in 
expression.  On  the  other  hand,  to  write  slowly  and 
carefully  takes  a  great  deal  of  time;  so  also  to  write  rap- 
idly, and  follow  with  careful  correction.  If  the  amount 
must  be  two  sermons  a  week,  it  becomes  difficult  to 
secure  the   requisite  time;  yet  it  is  only  this  kind  of 


60    MODEEN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

writing  that  makes  one  accurate  in  tliought  and  ex- 
pression. 

2.  Dangers  connected  icith  our  time.  There  must  be  a 
great  deal  of  time  given  to  reading  and  thinking  if  we 
are  to  have  anything  worth  saying  in  our  sermons. 
There  must  be  a  great  deal  of  time  given  to  pastoral 
work  if  we  are  to  follow  up  the  sermons  effectively. 
There  must  be  vigor  in  the  act  of  preaching^  and  Satur- 
day should  be  a  day  of  rest,  that  we  may  have  fresh 
strength  for  the  pulpit,  and  certainly  writing  should  not 
be  continued  into  Saturday  night. 

Besides,  the  act  of  writing  should  never  be  allowed  to 
be  the  time  limit  of  our  thinking.  If  we  think  only  as 
fast  as  we  write  we  will  not  be  able  to  go  very  far  into 
the  subjects  of  two  sermons  each  week. 

3.  Dangers  connected  with  preaching  written  sermons. 
One  danger  aiises  from  a  wrong  estimate  of  the  nature 
of  a  sermon.  A  preacher  is  apt  to  think  his  sermon 
finished  when  he  drops  his  pen,  when  in  reality  it  is  not 
yet  fairly  begun.  To  rely  upon  having  a  written  sermon 
to  escape  nerve  strain  in  the  pulpit  is  to  lose  all  possi- 
bility of  ever  becoming  a  preacher.  One  must  be  so 
familiar  with  his  sermon  that  he  can  preach  it;  to  fail 
in  this  is  to  fail  in  everything.  One  must  be  so  absorbed 
by  his  sermon  that  he  can  not  help  preaching  it.  To 
havp  to  keep  the  eyes  upon  the  written  page,  to  blunder 
over  it  and  get  lost  whenever  one  ventures  to  become 
earnest  in  speech,  to  be  content  listlessly  to  read  a  ser- 
mon, is  an  ofTense  to  God  and  man.  One  of  the  evi- 
dences of  the  divine  institution  of  the  Christian  church  is 
that  it  has  been  able  to  continue  its  existence  under  the 
burden  of  so  much  of  this  kind  of  so-called  preaching. 


HOMILETICS  61 

These  three  dangers  may  be  guarded  against  by  a 
constant  and  determined  will. 

There  is  one  danger  that  seems  incident  to  the 
method  itself.  The  written  sermon  is  a  fixed  thing. 
The  following  situation  will  often  occur:  The  plan  has 
been  formed  early  in  the  preparation^  it  has  been  care- 
fully worked  out,  but  now  in  the  closing  hours,  the 
mind  being  filled  with  the  subject  and  intense  in  its 
action,  an  entirely  new  plan  or  mode  of  treatment  arises, 
and  it  is  so  much  better  than  the  one  used  that  the 
written  sermon  ready  for  the  pulpit  seems  dull  and 
lifeless. 

One  may  attempt  to  change  a  i^art  of  the  treatment  by 
inserting  extemporaneous  passages,  but  this  is  rarely 
successful,  the  two  methods  being  so  different  in  mental 
action;  it  is  a  kind  of  back  draft  liable  to  cause  more 
smoke  than  flame ;  but  there  seems  no  possibility  of 
changing  the  whole  plan  of  the  sermon. 

The  old  and  poor  sermon  must  be  preached  as  it  is, 
and  the  new  and  good  one  on  the  same  theme  should  be 
saved  for  some  distant  time. 

The  preacher  choosing  to  preach  extemporaneously 
needs  to  guard  against  the  two  dangers  of  that  method. 

1.  The  danger  of  insufficient  preparation.  The  saying, 
^^  Speaking  makes  a  ready  man,"  may  deceive  one 
to  his  destruction.  A  flow  of  words  can  never  com- 
pensate for  a  stagnation  of  thought.  The  readiness 
must  be  of  thinking  and  feeling  as  well  as  of  speaking. 
The  gift  of  utterance  should  be  relied  upon  only  when 
one  makes  earnest  endeavor  to  have  something  worth 
uttering.  But  ^^  words,  words,  words,"  and  only  words, 
flow  from  the  pen  sometimes  as  well  as  from  the  tongue, 


62    MODEEN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

and  good  preaching,  whatever  the  method,  does  not  arise 
from  mental  and  spiritual  laziness. 

2,  The  danger  of  inelegant  speech.  It  is  not  enough  to 
have  something  to  say  worth  saying;  it  must  be  said 
forcefully  and  elegantly.  Improper  words,  careless  con- 
struction of  sentences,  incomplete  expression  of  thought 
or  feeling,  and  embarrassed  hesitancy  or  repetition  must 
be  avoided.  But  here,  also,  the  danger  of  these  inele- 
gancies  is  not  confined  to  extemporaneous  speaking.  One 
must  pay  the  price  of  a  good  style  by  constant,  careful 
work.  The  exercises  already  recommended,  and  others 
that  may  be  adopted,  must  be  diligently  pursued. 
Having  a  good  diction,  and  a  clear,  strong,  and  pleasing 
style,  acquired  and  maintained  by  diligent  exercise,  the 
use  of  that  style  in  its  finest  degree  will  come  extempo- 
raneously to  the  speaker  who  is  devoting  all  his  power 
to  stirring  his  people  to  lofty  thought  and  noble  en- 
deavor. 

There  are  certain  great  advantages  of  extem- 
poraneous preaching,  if  we  have  the  right  idea  of  its 
nature  and  adhere  closely  to  it  in  practise.  Extem- 
poraneous preaching  requires  carefully  prepared  thought 
and  elaborate  treatment,  but  leaves  the  incidental 
changes  of  treatment,  the  introduction  of  new  thoughts, 
and  the  choice  of  language  to  the  suggestion  of  the  time 
of  si)^king.  The  advantages  of  it  are  the  great  oppor- 
tunities it  gives  to  an  earnest  man.  These  are  at  least 
three. 

1.  The  oppoHunity  for  more  thorough  preparation.  The 
preacher  is  saved  the  time  and  labor  of  penmanship. 
He  cultivates  the  habit  of  thinking  more  rapidly  than 
he  can  write.     He  has  more  time  for  general  and  special 


HOMILETICS  63 

study,  for  reading  and  meditation.  He  can  carry  tlie 
preparation  of  his  sermons  with  him  in  his  walks  and 
talks,  in  his  recreation  and  general  work;  he  has  more 
time  for  pastoral  work,  and  can  make  it  tributary  to  the 
sermons.  He  may  form  the  general  i)lan  of  the  sermon 
early  in  the  week,  may  take  notes  of  his  thoughts  as  they 
arise  under  the  proper  heads,  may  make  all  desired 
changes  in  arrangement,  and  introduce  new  thoughts  uj) 
until  the  moment  of  entering  the  pulpit.  He  should,  I 
think,  take  Saturday  for  a  rest  day,  and  not  think  about 
his  sermons  on  that  day.  On  Sunday  morning  he  should 
spend  an  hour  or  two  in  his  study,  giving  his  entire 
mind  to  the  review  of  what  he  intends  to  do  in  the  pul- 
pit. The  whole  service,  especially  the  sermon,  should, 
as  far  as  possible,  absorb  his  attention.  Even  his  selec- 
tion of  Scripture  readings  for  the  pulpit,  and  of  hymns, 
the  general  preparation  for  public  prayefS,  etc.,  should 
have  been  made  before  Friday  night.  He  should  excite 
himself  mentally  and  spiritually. 

2.  The  opportimity  for  thought  mid  feeling  in  the  act  of 
speaking.  With  all  the  freshness  and  strength  from 
Saturday's  rest,  with  all  the  consciousness  of  abundant 
material  well  arranged,  with  all  the  solemn  earnestness 
of  the  hour  of  public  worship,  he  now  stands  before  the 
people  to  advocate  the  claim  of  God  ui)on  them.  His 
mind  will  be  filled  with  the  subject,  quickly  responsive  to 
the  interest  of  the  people,  and  excited  to  its  brightest 
thoughts;  his  memory  will  have  at  hand  its  rich  treas- 
ures; his  imagination  will  see  the  finest  scenes;  his 
emotions  will  glow  with  fervor;  the  prepared  thought 
and  apiDcals  will  be  tingling  with  intense  life,  and  the 
new  thoughts  and  feelings  will  fall  into  their  proper 


64    MODEEK  PEACTIOAL  THEOLOGY 

places;  and  the  living  sermon,  charged  with  the  life  of  the 
preacher,  will  make  its  impress  upon  the  lives  of  the 
people. 

Then,  too,  his  reliance  upon  the  presence  and  power 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  should  be  continuous  through  all  the 
preparation,  and  should  culminate  in  the  pulpit.  The 
true  preacher  feels  that  he  is  a  messenger  of  God,  and 
that  the  Savior  is  with  him;  and  he  should  be  most 
keenly  conscious  of  and  responsive  to  the  Divine  help  in 
the  act  of  preaching. 

S.  The  opportunity  for  natural  speaking.  The  preacher 
having  a  written  sermon,  if  he  does  not  recite  it  from 
memory,  is  apt  to  speak  artificially,  because  of  being  con- 
fined by  the  sermon.  The  reading  with  the  eye  and  the 
speaking  with  the  voice  are  separate  actions  of  the  mind, 
and  conflict  somewhat  with  natural  speech.  One  has  at 
times  to  take  the  eye  from  the  audience  and  place  it 
upon  the  paper;  he  bends  down  the  head  a  little,  thereby 
compressing  the  throat;  he  is  compelled  to  stand  behind 
the  desk  and  speak  over  it;  there  is  apt  to  be  an  awk- 
wardness of  movement  and  a  strained  tone  of  voice,  re- 
sulting in  what  is  called  the  pulpit  manner  and  the  pul- 
pit tone.  The  one  who  speaks  extemporaneously  may 
stand  out  on  the  platform  in  contact  with  the  audience, 
may  keep  his  eyes  upon  the  people,  may  speak  with 
head  V  erect,  giving  the  organs  of  speech  free  play,  and 
will  be  apt  to  use  the  tones  of  voice  which  naturally  ex- 
press his  thoughts  and  feelings;  he  may,  at  any  rate,  give 
himself  entirely  to  the  one  act  of  speaking. 

The  two  methods,  written  and  extemporaneous,  are  so 
radically  different,  both  in  preparation  and  in  speaking, 
that  it  is  a  rare  case  for  a  preacher  to  become  a  master 


HOMILETICS  65 

of  both.  It  is  generally  unwise  to  try  to  have  both 
kinds,  one  for  preaching  in  the  morning,  the  other  for 
evening,  or  to  combine  the  two  methods  in  one  sermon, 
or  to  think  of  pursuing  one  for  a  few  years  and  then  try- 
ing the  other. 

I  advise  the  extemporaneous  method.  Choose  it 
at  once,  pursue  it  exclusively,  and  determine  to  be  a 
master  of  it.  At  any  rate,  choose  the  one  kind  or  the 
other,  and  then  stick  to  it  and  make  the  most  of  it.  In 
order  that  students  may  know  their  powers  and  choose 
wisely,  we  have  in  our  course  the  exercise  of  extempo- 
raneous preaching.  Each  student  has  a  text  assigned  to 
him  one  week  before  i^reaching,  is  confined  to  the  use  of 
not  more  than  two  hundred  written  words  in  prepara- 
tion, and  is  required  to  have  no  notes  in  use  in  the  act  of 
preaching. 

The  art  of  natural  speaking  seems  a  contradiction 
of  words,  until  we  reflect  that  our  natui-al  powers  gener- 
ally require  training  to  reach  their  best  quality.  It  is 
so  with  walking,  talking,  thinking,  feeling,  and  it  is  so 
with  speaking.  No  one  is  thoroughly  trained  in  any 
power  until  he  forgets  the  process  of  training  and  uses 
the  power  spontaneously;  if  one  thinks  about  his  walking 
he  is  apt  to  walk  awkwardly,  or,  rather,  artificially.  Ar- 
tificiality in  speaking  does  not  come  from  too  much  train- 
ing, but  from  too  little;  one  must  be  cultured  in  speaking, 
as  in  walking,  until  he  can  speak  spontaneously,  without 
the  thinking  of  the  process;  he  has  then  the  art  of  speak- 
ing naturally.  Whatever  an  orator's  natural  endow- 
ment, he  can  excel  only  as  he  cultivates  his  gift,  and 
those  who  have  lesser  gifts  have  the  more  need  of  culti- 
vation.    It  is  with  this  as  with  all  God's  gifts:  we  are 


66    MODEEN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

not  to  wrap  it  in  a  napkin  and  let  it  lie  idle;  "vre  are  to 
make  tlie  best  use  of  it  for  its  increase  for  His  service. 
Each  one  should  take  the  utmost  pains  to  cultivate  his 
natural  powers  of  speaking  to  their  highest  efaciency ;  he 
should  begin  as  early  in  life  as  possible,  and  should  train 
himself  so  constantly  and  persistently  that  at  length  he 
has  them  fully  at  his  command;  and  he  should  maintain 
this  mastery  of  himself  by  all  needed  exercise  through- 
out his  preaching  life. 

There  are  four  departments  of  this  training  re~ 
quiring  his  constant  attention. 

1.  Articulation .  This  requires  only  the  quantity  and 
quality  of  voice  absolutely  needed  to  make  the  words 
easily  heard  and  distinguished  by  the  whole  audience. 
It  is  a  good  plan  to  speak  to  those  in  the  last  pew.  The 
preacher  with  a  message  from  God  must  speak  loudly 
and  clearly  enough  to  be  easily  understood  by  all.  This 
is  the  first  requisite.  His  pronunciation  of  words  should 
be  correct  according  to  the  best  popular  standards, 
avoiding  the  fastidious  and  peculiar.  He  should  culti- 
vate a  distinct  and  pleasing  articulation,  l^ever  strain 
the  voice  by  attempting  to  fill  spaces  too  large  for  you. 
In  such  case  speak  as  loudly  and  distinctly  as  you  can 
do  easily,  try  to  expel  the  voice  against  the  lower  front 
teeth,  but  never  shout  or  scream.  Avoid  the  falsetto, 
and  ^eak  directly  to  the  farthest  auditor  you  can  reach. 

2.  The  tone  of  voice.  This  is  all  the  remaining  power 
of  the  voice  after  complete  articulation  is  secured,  all 
the  music  and  charm  that  can  be  added  to  distinct  enun- 
ciation. There  are  two  general  tones;  these  are  distin- 
guished as  the  conversational  tone  and  the  oratorical  tone. 
The  conversational  tone  should  be  the  basis  of  preaching. 


HOMILETICS  67 

The  perfection  of  public  speaking  is  talking  to  people 
earnestly.  The  tone  prevailing  should  be  that  of  earnest 
and  serious  conversation  with  a  number  of  people  in  a 
large  room;  you  speak  naturally,  as  one  who  expects  to 
be  fully  understood.  In  this  there  is  much  opportunity 
for  the  ordinary  swing  and  rhythm  of  oratory,  for  the 
play  of  fancy  and  the  touch  of  feeling.  Having  this 
basis  of  conversational  tone,  if  you  become  enraptured 
with  your  subject  and  soar  into  the  oratorical  tone  you 
have  something  to  soar  from,  and  the  flight  being  over, 
you  have  something  to  come  back  to.  You  have  had  your 
vision,  and  have  given  it  to  others;  and  now  you  again 
talk  to  them  earnestly,  as  in  conversation. 

Tones  of  voice  are  also  to  be  distinguished  according 
to  the  psychological  character  of  the  speech.  There 
are  three  things  to  be  expressed  in  speaking — thought, 
feeling,  and  will — and  there  are  tones  of  voice  appropriate 
to  each. 

(a)  The  intellectual  tone  is  used  for  the  clear  statement 
of  truth;  we  use  it  instinctively  as  Paul  must  have  used 
it  in  saying,  ^^God  that  made  the  world  and  all  things 
therein,  seeing  that  He  is  Lord  of  Heaven  and  earth, 
dwelleth  not  in  temples  made  with  hands.'' 

(h)  The  emotional  tone  is  that  appropriate  to  feeling; 
we  can  hardly  use  David' s  words  in  any  other  tone :  ^  ^  O 
my  son  Absalom !  my  son,  my  son  Absalom !  would  God 
I  had  died  for  thee!     O  Absalom,  my  son,  my  son! " 

(c)  The  loill  tone  expresses  determination.  We  instinct- 
ively use  it  as  we  say  with  Joshua:  ^^But  as  for  me  and 
my  house,  we  will  serve  the  Lord."  To  mix  these  tones, 
or  to  try  to  exchange  them,  as  in  the  instances  cited, 
mars  expression  and  offends  taste.     To  use  them  natu- 


68    MODEEN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

rally  will  guard  against  monotony  and  give  a  pleasing 
variety  to  speech,  provided  in  the  speech  are  these  three 
elements:  thought,  feeling,  and  will. 

Monotony  of  speech  frequently  arises  from  monotony 
of  ideas.  When  there  is  a  rich  variety  of  ideas,  natural 
speech  will  express  them  in  the  appropriate  variety  of 
tones. 

S.  Posture.  The  dress  of  the  preacher  should  never 
be  peculiar,  should  not  draw  attention  to  itself,  nor  in 
any  way  hamper  him;  generally  the  clerical  garb,  the 
scholar's  gown,  and  all  jewelry  should  be  avoided. 
The  speaker  should  not  be  partly  hidden;  he  should 
stand  fully  seen  by  the  audience;  if  his  position  is 
by  the  side  of  the  desk,  he  should  be  far  enough  away 
to  avoid  touching  it  or  leaning  uj^on  it.  Generally  he 
should  stand  still  or  nearly  so,  not  move  from  side  to 
side;  while  he  is  trying  to  secure  one  part  of  the  audi- 
ence, he  may  lose  the  side  he  leaves,  and  this  shifting 
indicates  lack  of  control  of  himself.  There  is  a  lan- 
guage in  the  position  of  the  body,  and  if  one  has  such 
mastery  of  it  as  to  be  unconscious  of  himself,  and  has 
ideas  swaying  him,  the  posture,  with  its  slight,  uncon- 
scious changes,  will  clearly  convey  his  message  to  the 
people.  The  head  should  be  held  erect  and  firm; 
shaking  the  head  indicates  weakness  rather  than 
strength.  The  eyes  should  look  not  at  the  ceiling  or 
the  gallery,  but  at  the  people;  not  at  a  particular  person, 
but  generally  to  those  farthest  away,  for  you  want  your 
Avords  to  reach  them — then  those  near  by  will  hear.  The 
eyes  should  rest  upon  those  to  whom  you  are  speaking, 
and  occasionally  look  at  those  near  by. 

4.    Gesture.     All  the  action  of  the  body  beyond  pos- 


HOMILETICS  69 

ture  is  gesture,  i-)articularly  the  movement  of  the  arms 
and  hands.  A  preacher  should  have  such  complete 
control  of  hands  and  arms  that  they  spontaneously 
express  his  thoughts  and  feelings.  Fewness  of  gestures 
frequently  indicates  fewness  and  weakness  of  ideas. 
Pacing  from  side  to  side  of  the  platform  and  a  multi- 
plicity of  gestures  indicate  an  excitement  too  great  for 
the  speaker;  he  is  mastered  by  it  rather  than  the  master 
of  it,  and  so  he  fails  to  master  his  audience. 

But  there  should  be  such  a  variety  and  strength  of 
ideas  that  they  use  the  arms  and  hands  to  express  them- 
selves just  as  they  use  the  tones  of  voice — naturally  and 
spontaneously.  We  are  not  to  make  gestures  for  the 
sake  of  making  them,  but  in  order  to  express  our 
thoughts  and  feelings. 

The  training  in  these  four  departments  of  speaking 
should  be  both  general  and  special. 

1.  The  general  training  consists  in  a  few  minutes  spent 
each  morning  in  deep  breathing,  in  vocal  and  in  light 
gymnastic  exercises,  and  whenever  during  the  day  it 
may  be  convenient  and  desirable.  By  such  exercises  the 
general  health  will  be  promoted,  and  the  grace  and  power 
of  utterance  and  movement  in  speaking  secured.  A 
sponge  bath  of  cold  water  upon  rising  is  an  excellent 
nerve  tonic  if  your  system  is  strong  enough  to  react 
under  a  rubbing;  you  will  be  then  wide  enough  awake 
to  take  these  exercises  with  delight. 

2.  The  special  training  consists  in  speaking  carefully 
before  an  imaginary  or  real  audience  as  frequently  as 
possible.  If  you  can  secure  a  judicious  friend  to  point 
out  your  defects  and  your  virtues  it  will  be  a  help; 
but  you  are  to  exercise  your  best  taste  and  judgment  in 


70    MODERN  PRACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

finding  tliese  out  for  yourself,  and  you  must  develop 
yourself  patiently  and  thoroughly.  He  who  is  intent 
upon  mastering  this  last  and,  in  some  respects,  most 
important  part  of  preaching,  must  practise  speaking  to 
make  the  most  of  voice  and  gesture.  The  art  of  natural 
speaking  does  not  come  of  itself.  It  is  a  great  pity  that 
there  are  students  who  go  through  college  and  seminary, 
and  in  all  their  training  neglect  this,  either  from  lack  of 
interest  or  the  mistaken  idea  that  the  voice  must  be  left 
to  itself  The  voice  needs  culture  as  much  as  the  brain 
and  the  heart.  It  is  a  terrible  waste  of  culture  to  be 
able  to  prei)are  a  good  sermon,  and  then  fail  in  the  last 
and  most  vital  act — preaching  it.  Speak  aloud  in  your 
room,  and  in  the  chapel,  and  in  your  walks  in  the  country; 
train  your  voice  by  suitable  exercises;  do  not  be  afraid 
to  be  heard  but  rather  to  be  silent.  The  theological 
seminary  is  a  school  of  preaching,  a  school  of  oratory. 
Vocal  culture  should  not  heedlessly  disturb  the  quiet 
hour  of  study,  but  the  public  opinion  of  the  students 
should  demand  that  the  quiet  of  study  should  not 
smother  the  training  of  the  voice. 

The  preaching  a  sermon  is  the  truth  incarnate  in  a 
man  using  the  whole  man  to  express  itself  fully  and 
forcefully. 

The  message  God  sends  by  you  to  your  people  He  does 
not  ^end  by  a  letter,  but  by  a  man.  It  should  take 
possession  of  your  brain,  your  heart,  your  will;  it  should 
flash  through  your  eye,  vibrate  in  the  tones  of  your 
voice,  and  speak  through  every  movement  of  your  body; 
the  whole  man  should  be  given  up  to  the  message.  You 
should  see  the  truth  clearly,  recognize  and  give  yourself 
up  fully  to  the  object  of  the  truth,  put  yourself  entirely 


HOMILETICS  71 

under  the  spirit  of  the  truth.  Every  particle  of  your 
ability  should  be  given  up  to  it,  or,  rather,  to  Him,  the 
Holy  Spirit  of  truth,  and  then  God  speaks  through  you. 
If  you  are  aglow  with  the  love  of  Christ  and  the  love  of 
souls,  if  you  have  cultivated  all  your  powers  to  their 
highest  efficiency  for  His  sake,  and  given  them  up  with- 
out the  slightest  reserve  to  His  service,  you  may  then 
rely  with  utmost  confidence  upon  His  using  you  for  His 
glory  J  you  may  trust  absolutely  that  he  will  give  you 
the  unction  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  baptism  of  fire,  the 
power  from  on  high. 

This  is  true  pulpit  magnetism;  it  commands  a  hearing 
for  the  Gospel  message,  it  awakens  attention,  it  kindles 
sympathy,  it  is  the  fire  in  the  pulpit  that  kindles  fire  in 
the  pew,  it  is  the  heart  in  the  preacher's  voice  that  sends 
his  voice  to  the  hearts  of  the  people. 


CHAPTER   II 
LITURGICS 

Liturgies  is  that  brancli  of  Practical  Theology  which 
treats  of  the  nature,  spirit,  and  conduct  of  the  public  wor- 
ship of  God. 

The  word  comes  from  the  Greek,  a  combination  of 
laos  (people)  and  ergon  (work).  In  Greek  usage  it 
meant  work  by  and  for  the  people,  as  of  the  wealthy  in 
giving  amusement  and  help  to  the  masses.  In  ^NTew 
Testament  usage  it  refers  to  the  work  of  the  people  as 
directed  to  God;  even  where  it  refers  to  the  ministering 
of  some  people  to  others,  as  of  the  saints  at  Corinth  to 
the  poor  saints  at  Jerusalem,  it  is  indirectly  to  God.  In 
popular  usage  it  refers  to  the  use  of  a  formal  ritual  in 
the  worship  of  God.  In  scientific  usage  it  covers  the 
whole  subject  of  the  public  worship  of  God.  It  has 
these  characterists  of  a  science:  It  gathers  all  the  facts  of 
this  public  worship  of  God  in  the  history  of  the  past  and 
in  present  exercise  in  the  whole  earth;  it  sees  what  is 
common  to  all  these  facts;  and  it  draws  careful  conclu- 
sions as  to  the  substance  and  form  of  worship. 

There  are  at  least /owr  elements  in  all  worshif>: 

1.  Man  is  a  religious  being,  having  the  power  to  think 
of  a  Being  above  him  greater  and  better  than  he,  and  to 
desire  to  come  into  proper  relations  with  Him. 

2.  Man  possesses  qualities  of  character  which  he  ap- 
proves in  himself  and  admires  in  others,  and  of  which 
he  forms  an  ideal  of  perfection. 

72 


LITUEGICS  73 

3.  These  qualities  are  not  abstract,  tliey  are  only  to 
be  found  in  persons.  When  such  qualities  in  ideal  per- 
fection are  attributed  to  a  superior  beings  the  admira- 
tion awakened  by  them  becomes  adoration  of  that  per- 
son. Worshij)  is  the  adoration  of  God.  These  elements 
are  found  in  all  worship :  fetish  worship  of  savages,  the 
idolatry  of  semi-ci\ilized  superstition,  and  Christian 
worship).  Our  German  ancestors  admired  warlike  quali- 
ties of  character,  attributed  these  in  highest  degree  to 
their  gods,  and  then  adored  these  gods.  The  Christian 
worship)  differs  from  heathen  worship  in  that,  while 
their  gods  are  imaginations  of  their  own,  our  God  is  the 
true  and  living  God,  who  has  revealed  Himself  in  nature 
and  the  Scriptures  as  having  perfections  worthy  of  adora- 
tion. 

4.  This  adoration  takes  place  in  the  most  sensitive  and 
secluded  moments  of  the  soul.  Worship  is  generally 
exercised  in  times  and  places  when  the  soul  is  keenly 
centered  in  it.  All  that  conflicts  or  detracts  is  carefully 
excluded  from  this  sensitive  moment  of  the  soul.  As 
distinguished  from  secular  moments,  it  is  a  sacred  time, 
devoted  to  the  Being  worshiped.  The  soul  has  its  quiet 
hour  when  it  is  alone  with  God  in  the  closet,  the  door 
being  shut,  or  the  soul  meets  with  kindred  souls  on  a 
sacred  day  in  a  sacred  place.  Public  worship  is  incited 
and  encouraged  by  fellowship,  and  may  grow  into  a 
solemn  enthusiasm  when  a  multitude  gathered  for  a  holy 
purpose  in  a  hallowed  i)lace  is  stirred  by  the  contagion 
of  deep  feeling.  Sacred  times  and  places  are  thus  dis- 
tinguished from  the  profane  (  j;ro  =  before,  famim  =z  the 
Temjple) ;  the  word  itself  indicates  the  ground  or  street 
in  front  of  the  Temple,  which  is  trampled  by  men  intent 


74       modee:n^  peactical  theology 

on  worldly  thoughts  and  employments,  while  the  wor- 
shipers are  within  the  sacred  place,  in  its  guarded  seclu- 
sion, its  holy  stillness  and  calm,  with  all  else  shut  out — 
the  worshipers  alone  with  their  God. 

The  importance  of  worship  may  be  considered  in 
three  directions: 

1.  Its  influence  upon  the  worsliixyers.  It  must  confirm 
the  character  it  expresses,  and  greatly  foster  its  further 
development.  Adoration  of  the  Supreme  Being  includes 
admiration  of  the  qualities  of  character  shining  in  Him. 
The  sincerest  admiration  is  close  imitation,  so  such  quali- 
ties are  confirmed  and  developed  in  the  adoring  soul. 
This  development  of  character  is  wrought  inevitably  by 
a  law  of  our  nature;  it  may  be  increased  also  by  the  in- 
telligent purpose  of  one  who  knows  that  the  best  way  to 
please  God  is  to  grow  like  Him.  Public  worship  adds 
the  contagion  of  kindred  feelings,  and  the  stimulus  of 
common  hopes,  purposes,  and  efforts. 

2.  Its  influence  upon  the  nation.  As  worship  prevails 
in  a  community  and  nation,  as  the  number  of  worshipers 
and  the  sincerity  of  their  worship  prevail,  in  that  degree 
will  the  whole  nation  grow  in  the  qualities  of  character 
possessed  by  the  god  worshiped.  This  is  always  seen  in 
the  history  of  mankind.  Worship  has  ever  been  a  large 
element  in  the  growth  of  the  national  and  race  character. 
Our  German  ancestors  became  more  warlike  by  worship- 
ing warlike  gods.  The  proportion  in  which  a  community 
or  nation  worships  God  has  a  large  influence  upon  the 
character  and  welfare  of  the  nation.  He  who  touches 
the  worship  of  a  people  touches  an  element  of  large  in- 
fluence in  their  welfare.  The  growth  of  the  United 
States  in  a  worthy  national  character  will  be  efficiently 


LITUEGICS  75 

fostered  by  tlie  prevailing  Avorsliip  of  the  true  God.  Each 
community  is  elevated,  refined,  and  ennobled  in  growing- 
degree  as  the  worship  of  the  true  God  j^revails. 

3.  It  lionors  God.  The  highest  honor  man  can  give  to 
God  is  to  grow  like  Him  in  qualities  of  character. 

The  longing  of  a  father's  heart  is  for  the  recognition  of 
his  child  and  for  the  child's  responsive  love.  The  In- 
finite Father  has  this  longing  in  highest  degree,  and  it 
can  be  satisfied  only  by  the  worship  of  His  children. 

The  true  worship  of  God  is  such  a  sincere  and  strong 
adoration  of  Him  that  the  soul  grows  like  Him  in  moral 
qualities,  and  becomes  strong  to  govern  the  whole  man. 

Our  old  English  word  ^ '  worship ' '  brings  out  this  idea 
strongly  and  beautifully;  it  is  composed  of  the  two 
Anglo-Saxon  words  weoHh  (worth)  and  scipe  (ship,  from 
sceapan,  to  shape) ;  together  they  mean  that  worship  is  the 
whole  man  brought  into  a  shape  worthy  of  God.  Two 
highly  important  truths  are  embraced  in  this  statement. 
The  first  is  that  the  spirit  is  to  possess  moral  likeness  to 
God,  and  the  second  is  that  this  spirit,  possessing  moral 
likeness  to  God,  is  to  be  in  the  ascendency,  in  full  and 
constant  command  of  the  whole  man.  The  man  is  not  to 
be  ruled  by  his  animal  nature,  nor  by  his  intellectual 
nature,  nor  even  by  his  social  and  domestic  nature,  but  by 
his  spiritual  nature;  and  this  enthroned  spiritual  nature 
is  to  shine  in  the  likeness  of  God.  So  the  whole  man 
worships — that  is,  he  is  brought  into  a  shape  worthy  of 
God.  The  stated  times  and  formal  acts  of  worshij) 
should  therefore  express  and  foster  this  constant  attitude 
of  the  whole  man  to  God.  The  whole  service  of  worship 
should  be  designed  and  conducted  to  express  and  promote 
this  attitude.     He  who  conducts  the  public  worship  of 


16  MODEEl^  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

God  should  hold  this  ideal  before  himself,  and  he  should 
also  present  this  ideal  constantly  to  the  worshipers,  and 
should  seek  to  lead  all  men  to  this  kind  of  worship. 

In  the  acts  of  worship  the  soul  is  not  independent 
of  the  body;  while  it  rules  the  body  it  is  also  largely  in- 
fluenced by  it.  When  the  posture  of  the  body  is  expres- 
sive of  worship,  it  thereby  fosters  the  worship  of  the  soul. 
This  is  true  of  the  individual  in  the  closet;  it  is  especially 
true  of  the  kindred  worshipers  in  the  church,  and  it  has 
a  general  influence  upon  those  witnessing  the  act  of  wor- 
ship. The  reverential  posture  of  the  body  not  only  ex- 
presses but  fosters  the  adoration  of  the  soul.  There  are 
two  limitations  of  our  nature  in  this  respect:  Acts  of 
worship  can  not  be  long  continued — the  strain  upon  the 
spiritual  nature  is  too  great  to  be  prolonged;  and  the 
soul  can  not  long  worship  without  bodily  acts — ^ Spray- 
ing without  ceasing"  requires  the  bended  knee  and 
bowed  head  at  stated  times. 

In  private  worship  the  soul  is  alone  with  God,  and, 
whatever  be  the  posture  of  body  and  the  acts  and  words 
used  in  this  worshij:),  others  are  not  affected  by  them; 
but  in  public  worship  the  agreement  of  a  number  of  wor- 
shipers is  essential,  and  the  acts  and  words  of  worshij) 
should  not  disturb  but  foster  this  agreement. 

Public  worship  arises  from  the  needs  of  man.  Be- 
sides the  private  blessings  each  one  receives,  there  are 
many  i)ublic  blessings;  besides  the  private  life  each  one 
lives,  the  grandeur  and  loneliness  of  i)ersonality,  there 
are  many  social  relations  and  public  duties  which  are 
God  given;  and  private  worship,  however  important  and 
delightful,  needs  to  be  sup]3lemented  by  public  worship. 
He  who  abstains  from  the  public  worship  of  God  neglects 


LITUEGICS  77 

a  large  duty  and  privilege  both  to  God  and  man.  Pub- 
lic worship  is  also  sanctioned  by  the  general  teaching  of 
the  Scriptures,  by  some  special  directions  {e.g.^  Heb. 
x:  25),  by  many  instances  of  such  worship  both  in  the  Old 
and  I^ew  Testaments,  and  by  the  example  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  who  was  not  content  with  private  worship, 
but  was  in  the  habit  of  worshiping  His  Father  on  the 
Holy  Day  in  both  Synagog  and  Temple  in  public,  with 
His  worshiping  people. 

The  sole  being  who  is  the  object  of  Christian  wor- 
ship is  the  one  and  only  God  revealed  in  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  He  is  to  be  approached  through  Christ  alone 
and  by  the  Holy  Spirit. 

We  can  find  no  sanction  in  the  Scriptures  for  the 
inferior  worship  of  the  Virgin  Mary  and  of  the  Saints, 
as  practised  by  the  Eomish  Church. 

We  can  find  no  ritual  prescribed  in  the  Scriptures; 
the  form  of  worshij)  arises  from  the  spirit  of  the  wor- 
shipers. 

There  are  four  qualities  to  be  fostered  in  whatever 
form  of  worship  is  adoi)ted: 

1.  It  should  he  intelligent.  The  acts  and  words  used 
should  be  easily  understood  by  the  worshiping  people. 
The  people  are  to  worship  with  the  understanding — 
expressing  whiit  they  believe  and  feel  rather  than  accept- 
ing a  service  performed  in  their  behalf  by  others. 

2.  It  should  be  expressive.  The  people  are  to  express 
their  feelings  to  God.  Whatever  impression  is  made 
upon  witnesses  must  come  from  this  expression  of  feeling 
to  God. 

3.  It  should  he  spiritucd.  Kites  and  ceremonies  are  of 
value  only  as  they  express  and  cultivate  spirituality. 


78    MODEEN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

Jf..  It  sJioidd  he  simple.  The  elaboration  of  ritual  which 
draws  attention  to  its  own  magnificence  is  to  be  dis- 
carded. 

There  are  three  principal  theories  concerning  the 
leadership  of  public  worship: 

1.  Quakerism  provides  no  order  of  leaders,  but  relies 
upon  some  one  on  each  occasion  being  specially  moved 
by  the  spirit  of  God  to  lead  the  worshij). 

2.  Eomanism  provides  an  order  of  priests,  who  offer 
the  sacrifice  of  Christ  anew  in  rites  and  ceremonies 
inspiring  awe 

3.  Protestantism  provides  an  order  of  ministers^  trained 
and  set  apart  to  lead  the  public  worship;  these  have  no 
priestly  powers,  but  are  simi3ly  teachers  and  leaders  of 
the  people. 

The  component  parts  of  the  Public  Worship  of  God 
on  His  day  and  in  His  House  are  generally  (1)  Prayer, 
(2)  Praise,  (3)  Eeading  the  Scriptures,  (4)  Offerings 
for  the  Lord's  Cause,  (5)  Preaching,  and  at  stated  times 
(6)  Administering  the  Sacraments  of  Baptism  and  the 
Lord' s  Supper. 

I.  Prayer 

Two  practises  prevail  in  the  Church  Universal  in 
regard  to  Public  Prayer. 

(a)  Prescribed  forms  are  used  in  the  Eoman  Catholic 
and  in  the  Episcopal  churches.  Here  Church  authority 
constructs  with  great  care,  gathering  also  from  its  long 
history,  the  best  forms,  and  imposes  their  use  upon  all 
occasions. 

The  Eoman  Church  has  these  forms  in  the  Latin 
language.  By  the  use  of  this  language,  set  apart  and 
thus  made  sacred  for   worship,    she  claims   that    she 


LITUEGICS  79 

awakens  reverence  aud  shows  her  antiquity — her  unity 
and  her  unehangeableness — but  it  is  evident  she  can  not 
promote  intelligence  in  worship  by  the  use  of  a  language 
unknown  to  many  worshipers. 

The  Episcopal  Chui^ch  uses  prescribed  forms  in  the 
language  of  the  people  worshiping. 

(b)  Freedom  in  form,  when  the  minister  forms  the 
l^rayer  for  each  occasion. 

The  Eeformed  Church  in  America  has  forms  for  use  in 
the  general  service,  but  gives  the  liberty  to  use  them  or 
not  as  seems  expedient.  She  commits  praying,  as  preach- 
ing, to  the  taste  and  skill  of  a  consecrated,  trained,  and 
educated  ministry.  In  the  administration  of  the  Sacra- 
ments, however,  she  commands  that  the  prescribed  forms 
of  prayer  shall  be  used,  as  also  the  devotional  setting 
forth  of  the  doctrines  in  our  liturgical  forms. 

There  are  some  manifest  advantages  in  having  freedom 
from  prescribed  forms  in  prayer. 

1.  Opportunity  is  given  to  conform  to  the  changing 
needs  and  experiences  of  the  people. 

2.  Opportunity  is  also  given  for  the  development  of 
the  si3irit  and  gift  of  prayer  in  both  pastor  and  people. 
Fervor  of  spirit  may  so  clothe  itself  in  approiDriate  form 
that  an  advance  is  made  toward  perfection,  toward  the 
ideal  of  prayer. 

The  minister's  relation  to  public  prayer  is  that  of 
a  leader.  He  does  not  pray  for  the  people  as  an  inter- 
cessor, but  voices  forth  their  united  prayers;  he  leads 
the  people  of  God  in  their  prayers.  He  should  express 
the  feelings  and  desires  which  the  people  should  have 
toward  God  in  a  way  to  honor  Him  and  to  cultivate 
their  spiritual  aspirations.     There  are  two  requisites  for 


80    MODEEN  PEACTIOAL  THEOLOGY 

such  leadership.  He  must  have  (1)  the  grace  of  prayer, 
the  outgoing  of  a  renewed  heart,  and  the  (2)  gift  of 
prayer,  the  ability  to  discern  and  express  the  needs  of 
the  people;  and  he  should  cultivate  both  grace  and  gift 
constantly.  He  should  use  choice  language,  suitable  to 
the  worship  of  God  and  easily  understood  by  the  people, 
that  they  may  intelligently  unite  in  the  prayer.  He 
should  have  such  a  knowledge  of  and  sympathy  with 
human  hearts,  under  the  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
that  he  expresses  suitably  those  feelings  and  desires  in 
which  all  should  agree. 

The  pastor  should  have  such  a  view  of  the  importance 
and  solemnity  of  this  part  of  worshix)  as  shall  lead  him 
to  make  the  most  careful  ^preparation  for  it,  in  the  selec- 
tion and  arrangement  of  material,  and  in  the  manner  of 
its  presentation  to  God.  As  carefully  as  he  prepares  for 
his  sermon,  the  address  to  the  i)eople  in  the  name  of 
God,  so  carefully  should  he  prepare  for  prayer,  the 
address  to  God,  in  the  name  of  the  people.  The  expres- 
sion in  both  cases  may  be  fully  written  out  or  left  to  the 
impulse  of  the  moment. 

The  importance  of  public  prayer  is  seen; 

1.  In  that  it  honors  God,  being  a  public  acknowledg- 
ment of  Him  as  the  source  of  all  good. 

2.  In  that  it  obtains  blessings  from  Him  by  the  believ- 
ing use  of  His  own  appointed  means. 

3.  In  that  it  cultivates  in  the  people  the  spirit  and 
practise  of  private  prayer.  Man  is  the  only  being  on 
earth  capable  of  praying.  Prayer  is  the  exercise  of  the 
supreme  faculty  of  our  nature,  that  of  having  fellowship 
with  God.  This  i^ower  should  be  in  constant  exercise; 
it  should  ceaselessly  resist  the  down-pull  of  our  lower 


LITUEGICS  81 

nature;  it  «lioukl  be  regarded  as  our  higliest  duty  and 
privilege  to  pray  earnestly;  but  because  the  power  of  it 
is  so  lofty  the  exercise  of  it  is  difficult  and  sometimes 
neglected,  and,  therefore,  God's  people  need  for  their 
private  devotions  the  stimulus  and  help  of  frequent 
fellowship  in  i)raycr. 

The  principal  prayers  in  the  usual  service  of  i)ublic 
worship  in  the  Reformed  churches  are  four: 

1.  The  Invocation.  In  this  short  prayer  the  people 
adore  God  and  crave  His  presence  and  His  direction  in 
their  worship.  It  usually  closes  with  the  Lord's  Prayer, 
in  which  the  i)eople  unite  in  voice,  and  it  is  followed 
immediately,  while  the  people  remain  standing,  with  the 
Salutation. 

2.  The  Frayer  upon  Making  the  Offeriiig.  This  is  now 
being  introduced,  and  in  it  the  people  dedicate  their 
offering  to  God,  and  ask  Him  to  receive  it  and  bless  its 
use,  and  cause  the  giving  spirit  to  grow  in  their  hearts 
and  lives. 

3.  The  General,  or  Lo7ig,  Frayer.  In  this  the  people 
present  their  common  experiences  and  needs  to  God. 

4-.  The  Closing  Frayer.  This  may  be  immediately 
after  the  sermon,  or  after  the  closing  hymn;  in  this  last 
case  it  is  followed  by  the  Benediction.  In  the  former 
case  the  hymn  follows  the  i^rayer,  and  the  Benediction 
follows  the  hymn  and  closes  the  service.  In  the  closing 
prayer  the  people  crave  God's  blessing  upon  his  preached 
Word,  and  that  it  may  rest  upon  them  as  they  leave  His 
house. 

1,  2,  and  4  should  ]je  short  and  specific — a  few  sentences 
upon  the  one  subject  of  the  prayer.  The  General  Prayer 
demands  si)ecial  consideration. 


82    MODEEN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

The  Salutation  and  Benediction  are  regarded  by 
mauy  as  intercessory  i^rayers  of  the  pastor  for  the  people, 
but  we  regard  them  as  the  blessing  of  God  pronounced 
by  His  authorized  minister  upon  His  believing  people. 
This  demands  that  both  should  be  in  the  exact  words 
of  Scripture — it  is  difficult  and  out  of  place  to  try  to 
improve  upon  God's  words  of  blessing. 

Choice  may  be  made  from  the  varied  Salutations  and 
Benedictions  found  in  the  Scripture  for  various  occa- 
sions, but  the  general  use  should  be  largely  confined 
to  the  Salutation  in  Eom.  i:7,  and  the  Benediction  in 
II.  Cor.  xiii:14,  these  being  very  full  and  most  generally 
adopted  by  the  whole  Church.  They  are  suitable  only 
to  the  public  worshij)  of  God.  The  Benediction  should 
not  be  given  to  dismiss  a  public  meeting  of  a  secular 
character,  but  a  prayer  suitable  to  the  occasion  should 
be  made. 

The  principal  parts  of  the  General,  or  Long,  Prayer 
should  be  (1)  Adoration,  (2)  Thanksgiving,  (3)  Con- 
fession, (4)  Petition,  and  (5)  Conclusion. 

1.  Adoration.  This  embraces  the  address  to  God, 
which  should  be  by  the  names,  titles,  attributes,  and 
descriptions  He  has  given  of  Himself  in  the  Scriptures. 
The  mind  of  the  pastor  should  be  stored  with  these. 
Then  follows  the  expression  of  the  feelings  properly 
awakened  by  the  greatness,  character,  and  works  of  God; 
the  faith  and  affection  of  the  people  are  confirmed  and 
fostered  by  this  contemplation  of  God.  This  part  of 
the  prayer  shoidd  be  short  and  of  great  variety,  but  its 
spirit  should  pervade  the  whole  prayer. 

2.  Thanksgiving  generally  and  naturally  follows,  tho 
at  times  Confession  may  take  its  x^lace.     There  should 


LITUEGICS  83 

be  a  prominent  place  for  Thanksgiving  in  every  General 
Prayer,  for  the  spirit  of  gladness  should  be  present  in 
all  worship,  and  God's  people  should  always  be  thank- 
ful that  they  are  God's.  Thanking  and  thinking  are 
near  akin,  and  we  should  so  think  of  God's  many  gifts 
of  providence  and  grace  that  we  acknowledge  Him  as 
the  giver  with  grateful  hearts.  There  should  be  such  a 
suggestive  selection  of  topics  as  to  secure  to  this  portion 
of  the  prayer  great  variety  from  week  to  week. 

3.  Confession  should  also  have  a  place  in  every  Gen- 
eral Prayer.  The  sentimentalist  may  say  that  we  should 
not  mention  our  sins  so  frequently  to  God ;  that  an  earthly 
father  does  not  desire  this  from  his  child;  that  it  is 
morbid,  and  not  a  high  ideal  of  child  character.  But  in 
prayer,  as  in  everything,  it  is  of  first  importance  to  be 
true.  To  speak  to  God  as  if  we  were  without  sin  would 
be  false  to  our  real  condition.  So  Christ  teaches  us  to 
pray  for  daily  forgiveness.  On  the  other  hand,  we  must 
not  say  too  hard  things  about  ourselves;  we  must  be 
true  in  this  direction  also. 

We  are  not  to  confess  that  we  are  dead  in  sin,  that 
there  is  no  good  in  us.  We  confess  that  we  were  dead, 
but  we  thankfully  acknowledge  that  the  grace  of  God 
has  brought  us  into  new  life,  so  we  are  His  worshiping 
people.  Much  sinfulness  remains  in  us  against  our  will 
— we  confess  this  with  contrition.  We  fall  far  short  of 
perfect  Christlikeness,  we  confess  this  with  aspirations. 
We  also  make  mention  of  our  sins  of  omission  and 
commission  as  aggravated  by  the  constant  grace  of 
God. 

4.  Petition  should  be  the  larger  portion  of  every  Gen- 
eral Prayer,  and  should  generally  be  (1)  for  the  individ- 


84       modee:n^  peactical  theology 

ual  church,  and  (2)  for  the  universal  Church,  the  King- 
dom of  God,  and  (3)  for  the  world. 

1.  Fetition  for  the  iyidividual  church  should  embrace 
as  its  object  both  material  and  spiritual  blessings  for  all 
the  members:  daily  bread,  daily  forgiveness,  daily  deliv- 
erance from  evil — that  is,  all  the  gifts  and  graces  needed 
to  make  the  church  effective  for  good  in  the  community 
and  the  world.  Special  prayers  should  be  made  for  the 
sick  and  the  afflicted. 

2.  In  praying  for  the  Church  Universal  and  for  the  King- 
dom of  Christ,  the  individual  church  is  still  praying  for 
herself,  since  she  is  a  part  of  these.  She  prays  that  the 
universal  Church  shall  grow  in  Christlikeness  and  shall 
preach  Christ's  Gospel  in  the  whole  earth,  thus  advanc- 
ing His  Kingdom  in  the  world.  She  prays  for  the  nation 
in  which  she  dwells  and  for  its  rulers,  that  the  Kingdom 
may  flourish  here,  and  for  all  kindreds  and  peoples  and 
nations,  that  the  Kingdom  may  be  established  and  flour- 
ish everywhere.  The  church  should  always  remember 
in  her  prayers  her  missionaries  and  those  of  the  Church 
Universal,  and  every  agency  used  for  establishing  the 
Kingdom  of  God.  She  should  also  frequently  pray 
for  her  baptized  members,  that  they  may  become  full 
members  in  Christ. 

3.  The  church  should  always  pray  for  the  world  that 
does  not  pray  for  itself;  this  is  the  church's  inter- 
cessory prayer.  She  intercedes  for  the  unconverted 
within  her  congregation,  that  they  may  become  the 
full  and  avowed  followers  of  Christ  and  worshipers  of 
God  through  Him.  She  intercedes  for  the  neglecters 
of  God  in  Christian  lands  who  never  gather  for  His 
public   worship   in   the  church;  and  for  the  heathen. 


LTTUEGICS  85 

She  prays  for  material  and  spiritual  blessings  for  all 
men — not  merely  and  vaguely  that  ''God  will  bless,'' 
but  with  special  desires  for  special  blessings.  The 
spirit  of  the  petition  should  be  earnest  and  impor- 
tunate. AYe  may  plead  with  God,  plead  His  covenant, 
His  promises,  the  Savior's  name.  God  encourages  His 
people  to  urge  their  desires  in  true  faith. 

5.  The  conclusion  should  be  in  keeping  with  the 
whole  prayer,  leaving  the  impression  of  the  majesty  and 
holiness  of  God  upon  the  minds  and  hearts  of  the  people. 
It  should  end  in  the  name  of  Christ,  or  rarely  with  a 
Scriptural  doxology.  The  J  men  should  be  distinctly 
pronounced  and  without  haste,  but  should  not  be  in- 
toned, as  the  whole  prayer  is  spoken,  not  sung. 

The  style  and  manner  of  Public  Prayer  should  be 
reverential.  Terms  of  familiarity  and  endearment 
should  be  avoided,  since  we  are  addressing  the  Infinite 
and  Holy  God.  Simple  and  chaste  language  should  be 
used,  easily  understood  by  the  ignorant  and  distressed, 
and  also  proper  to  use  before  the  throne  of  the  Most 
High.  The  tone  of  voice  should  be  easily  heard  by  all, 
from  the  first  word  of  the  prayer  to  the  last,  and  should 
be  earnest  but  never  loud  nor  boisterous,  since  God  is 
near  by  and  loves  to  hear  His  people  pray.  The  pos- 
ture should  be  reverent;  usually  the  minister  should  stand 
with  clasped  hands,  without  gesture,  and  the  people 
should  listen  with  bowed  heads. 

A  reverent  spirit  and  good  taste  will  avoid  such  faults 
as  the  reiteration  in  prayer  of  the  name  of  God,  the 
preaching  to  the  people,  the  use  of  personalities  and 
compliments,  and  reference  to  private  or  domestic  affairs. 
The   minister  should  also   guard  against  making   the 


86    MODEEN  PRACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

prayer  too  short,  so  as  to  be  slighting,  or  too  long,  so  as 
to  be  wearisome.  It  should  generally  be  about  ten  min- 
utes long. 

The  preparation  for  Public  Prayer  should  be  both 
general  and  special.  The  minister  should  be  familiar 
with  the  prayei^  in  the  Scrijitures,  with  the  collects  of 
prayer  in  the  liturgies  of  the  churches,  and  with  the 
l^rayers  of  many  richly  gifted  ministers  as  found  in 
books  or  heard  in  the  churches;  thus  learning  from  the 
prayers  of  others,  he  should  carefully  construct  prayers 
of  his  own. 

His  special  preparation  should  embrace  the  realization 
of  the  special  needs  of  his  congregation;  he  should  know 
his  people  intimately,  and  should  try  to  symj)athize  with 
them,  to  feel  as  Christ  would  feel  with  and  for  them. 

II.    Praise 

There  are  three  important  elements  of  Public 
Praise  :  (i)  IajHc  Poetry,  {2)  Music  of  Voice,  and ^(3) 
Music  of  Instruments. 

I.  Lyric  Poetry.  Epic  poetry  describes  action. 
Dramatic  poetry  presents  the  actors.  Lyric  poetry 
voices  the  reality,  the  truth  back  of  all  action.  Lyric 
poetry  is  musical  thought  and  feeling,  the  deep  har- 
monies of  nature' s  many  voices  caught  by  the  sensitive 
soul  of  the  poet  and  voiced  by  him  for  kindred  souls. 
Soaring,  it  leaves  the  other  kinds  of  i^oetry  far  below, 
and,  looking  out  upon  the  fiice  of  nature  and  up  into 
the  face  of  God,  it  sings.  Poetry  that  can  be  sung  is 
the  poetry  of  the  soul;  it  expresses  and  awakens  the 
deepest  and  finest  feelings,  and  directs  them  in  the 
worship  of  God.     It  has  vast  power  over  the  minds  and 


LITUEGICS  87 

hearts  of  mankind.  There  is  much  force  in  the  saying: 
^^Let  me  make  the  songs  of  a  people  and  I  care  not 
who  makes  their  laws."  One  can  hardly  estimate  the 
influence  of  poetry  upon  the  average  church  assembly. 
The  minister  should  value  aright  this  important  element 
in  worship.  He  should  pay  much  attention  to  the  study 
and  selection  of  hymns,  he  should  have  his  feelings 
deeply  stirred  by  them,  and  he  should  read  them  with 
full  exi)ression  of  feeling.  The  reading  of  hymns  is 
an  important  iDart  of  the  minister's  leading  of  worship; 
he  is  the  interpreter  of  the  hymns  to  many  of  the  con- 
gregation, and  the  singing  of  the  hymns  will  largely  de- 
pend upon  the  feeling  his  interpretation  awakens  in 
their  hearts. 

2.  Music  of  Voice.  The  tones  of  voice  in  singing 
are  those  that  ex^Dress  and  awaken  sentiment  rather  than 
thought.  The  thought  of  the  hymn  is  expressed  by  the 
voice  with  feeling,  and  it  awakens  responsive  feeling. 
Peoi)le  generally,  if  they  have  the  feeling,  can  use  the 
tones  of  voice  exx)ressive  of  feeling — they  can  sing  their 
feelings. 

There  has  been  a  vast  amount  of  song  brought  into  the 
world  by  Christianity;  it  has  awakened  the  feelings  that 
voice  themselves  in  song,  and  Christian  assemblies  are 
singing  assemblies.  Eichly  gifted  and  cultured  voices, 
if  stirred  by  Christian  feeling,  can  express  such  feeling 
in  a  way  to  awaken  it  powerfully  in  listening  souls.  As 
with  poetry,  so  with  this  rendering  of  it.  One  can  hardly 
estimate  the  power  of  song  both  to  express  and  stir  the 
feelings. 

3.  Music  of  Instruments.  The  music  of  instru- 
ments also  awakens  and  exx)resses  sentiment  rather  than 


88  MODEEN  PRACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

thought .  There  is  a  language  of  music;  it  conveys 
ideas  or  thoughts,  but  these  are  so  charged  with  feeling 
and  so  awakening  of  feeling  that  the  thought  exists  in 
order  to  feel. 

In  the  ancient  Temple  on  Zion  there  was  much  music 
in  the  worship  of  God:  the  lyric  poetry  of  the  Psalms; 
a  great  choir,  well  trained,  and  leading  at  times  the 
great  congregation;  and  a  vast  orchestra,  made  up  of 
skilled  players  of  all  the  instruments  of  music  then 
known.  Above  and  beyond  all  the  praise  of  the  earth 
shall  be  the  praise  in  heaven,  and  it  shall  contain  these 
three  elements:  (1)  '^The  songs  of  Moses  and  the  Lamb. 
(2)  The  voice  of  harpers  (3)  harping  with  their 
harps." 

As  with  poetry  and  song,  so  here  one  can  hardly  esti- 
mate the  power  of  instrumental  music.  An  army  is 
tired  out  on  the  march  or  wavering  on  the  line  of  battle; 
the  band  plays  stirring  martial  music,  and  it  is  a  new 
army,  not  tired  or  wavering,  but  full  of  courage  and 
power. 

The  church  organ  is  the  king  of  instruments.  David's 
orchestra  had  a  hundred  or  more  pipes,  but  our  organ 
may  have  a  thousand  pipes  to  his  hundred.  The  tones 
of  the  organ  are  peculiarly  expressive  of  the  feelings  en- 
gaged in  worship,  and  awaken  and  cultivate  such  feel- 
ings, t  When  a  skilled  player  filled  with  religious  feel- 
ing renders  upon  this  wonderful  instrument  music 
expressive  of  religious  feeling,  one  can  not  estimate  its 
power  on  a  worshiping  assembly. 

The  combination  of  these  three  elements— poetry, 
song,  and  instrumental  music — makes  the  Public  Praise 
a  great  tribute  to  God  and  a  vast  power  over  mankind. 


LITITRGICS  S9 

The  importance  of  Public  Praise  lies  in  three 
directions : 

1.  It  expresses  and  cultivates  religious  sentiment.  While 
there  are  many  ways  of  doing  this,  nothing  can  take  the 
place  of  Public  Praise. 

2.  It  impresses  the  community  and  the  world  icith  the  joy- 
ous and  praisefu  I  spirit  of  religion.  Eeligion  is  not  sad  and 
gloomy:  it  sings  too  much  to  allow  snch  an  iaipression 
to  prevail.  A  dne  consideration  of  the  history  and 
practise  of  Christian  praise  gives  some  idea  of  the 
amotmt  of  joy  Christianity  has  brought  to  the  earth. 

S.  It  honors  God.  Gk)d  as  revealed  in  Christ  is  not  to 
be  hated,  dreaded,  and  feared,  but  loved,  joyed  in.  and 
praised.  The  worshiping  people  rejoice  in  and  praise 
God:  they  do  not  wail,  they  sing. 

Public  Praise  is  addressed  to  God.  God  loves 
music.  He  is  the  Great  Musician.  He  made  all  mtisical 
sotmds:  the  songs  of  winds,  of  streams,  of  ocean,  of  birds. 
He  gave  the  human  voice  the  power  of  song,  and  to  man 
the  power  to  devise  instruments:  and  He  gave  to  some  men 
genitis  to  comi)ose  music.  In  worship  man  gathers  up  all 
this  musical  power,  or  represents  it.  and  offers  it  all  to  God. 

The  praise  should  undoubtedly  be  the  best  we  can 
possibly  give.  It  is  addressed  to  God;  this  should  be 
ever  kept  in  mind.  It  is  the  religious  kind  of  poetry, 
song,  and  mtLsic. 

We  instinctively  reject  sensual,  amatory,  and  bac- 
chanalian poetry  in  thinking  of  that  which  is  suitable 
for  worship. 

The  mtisic  to  be  sung  or  played  has  a  langnage  as  weU 
as  the  words:  music  that  awakens  and  expresses  senstial- 
itjj  amativeness,  or  revelry  shoidd  be  rejected. 


90    MODERN  PRACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

Public  Praise  differs  from  a  concert  in  its  nature — it  is 
addressed  to  God;  a  concert  is  addressed  to  an  audience. 
This  end  forms  the  standard  of  religious  music.  The 
poetry,  the  music  of  voice,  the  music  of  instrument,  must 
all  be  addressed  to  God.  They  should  be  of  the  very 
best  (within  the  reach  of  the  worshipers)  that  can  be 
suitably  addressed  to  God;  they  must  express  and  awaken 
feelings  of  worship.  It  is  debasing  this  part  of  the  serv- 
ice to  devote  it  to  man;  it  is  turning  the  praising  of 
God  into  a  concert  for  man.  To  charm  the  musical 
taste  of  the  audience  is  not  the  aim  of  this  part  of  the 
service,  and  it  should  be  carefully  avoided.  The  sole 
aim  is  to  express  and  awaken  feelings  of  worship,  and 
present  these  to  God.  Therefore,  the  very  best  music  in 
the  very  best  manner  to  accomplish  this  aim  should  be 
given  to  God. 

Public  Praise  is  presented  to  God  by  His  worship- 
ing people  either  directly  or  by  their  chosen  representa- 
tives. There  should  be  a  large  element  of  congrega- 
tional singing.  All  the  people  have  abundant  reason  to 
thank  and  praise  God  with  their  voices,  and,  tho  the 
singing  of  some  may  not  be  of  the  finest  quality,  judged 
by  musical  standards,  it  may  be  a  suitable  expression  of 
feeling  and  well  pleasing  to  God. 

There  are  three  ways  of  cultivating  good  congrega- 
tional singing: 

1.  The  minister  should  read  the  hymns  in  a  way  to  bring 
out  their  meaning  and  to  arouse  the  feelings  of  praise  in 
the  people.  Such  reading  prepares  for  congregational 
singing  in  a  high  degree,  and  the  minister  should  employ 
this  means  enthusiastically.  The  selection  of  hymns 
should  be  carefully  made  by  the  minister  with  a  view  to 


LITUEGICS  91 

such  reading  and  singing.  The  hymns  of  each  service 
should  be  in  harmony  with  the  other  parts  of  the  serv- 
ice, not  generally  on  the  same  theme  as  the  sermon  but 
in  harmony  with  it,  and  should  be  such  as  will  awaken 
and  express  feelings  of  praise. 

2.  Tunes  suitable  to  congregational  singing  should  be  se- 
lected. Those  of  a  simple  melody,  suited  to  any  voice, 
with  no  skips  or  long  intervals,  with  no  jerks,  but  con- 
fined within  an  octave,  and  having  a  strong,  joyous 
rhythm,  should  be  used  exclusively.  One  should  be- 
come very  familiar  with  the  hymns  and  tunes  of  the  book 
used.  Our  Church  directs  that  only  such  books  as  are 
approved  by  the  General  Synod  shall  be  used.  But  the 
General  Synod  does  not  approve  of  all  the  hymns  and 
tunes  in  any  book  to  the  extent  of  making  it  one's  duty 
to  use  them  generally.  Probably  three-fourths  of  the 
hymns  and  perhaps  four-fifths  of  the  tunes  should  be 
rejected  as  unsuitable  for  congregational  singing.  The 
carefully  selected  ones  should  be  marked  in  your  study 
hymn-book,  and  selections  each  Sabbath  made  from  these 
only. 

3.  The  singing  should  be  in  unison  rather  than  in  harmony. 
If  the  congregation  is  led  by  a  choir,  let  the  choir  lead 
in  unison.  Explain  to  the  choir  and  congregation  the 
need  of  this,  and  ask  the  strong,  cultivated  singers  to 
help  along  the  uncultivated  voices  and  the  whole  con- 
gregation in  their  praises.  A  little  consideration  and 
practise  in  this  line  will  awaken  an  enthusiasm  for  con- 
gregational singing.  In  a  little  while,  through  this 
training,  the  volume  of  song  will  be  so  great  that  the 
cultivated  voices  in  the  congregation  may,  if  they  choose, 
sing  their  parts. 


92    MODEEK  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

The  singing  of  a  trained  choir  is  also  to  be  used, 
not  only  as  a  leader  of  congregational  singing,  but  by 
themselves.  It  may  be  either  a  quartet  or  a  chorus 
choir,  and  a  rich  solo  voice  is  often  effective  in  awaken- 
ing and  expressing  right  feelings  toward  God.  Three 
things  about  a  choir  are  of  the  greatest  importance: 

1.  It  should  be  composed  exclusively  of  the  worship- 
ing people  of  God.  As  well  might  an  unbeliever  lead  in 
the  prayer  service  as  in  the  praise  service. 

2.  It  should  view  its  mission  to  be  not  to  delight  the 
people  as  in  a  concert,  but  to  dedicate  all  its  talent  to 
the  praise  of  God. 

3.  It  should  locate  its  anthems  and  other  selected 
pieces  in  those  parts  of  the  service  the  minister  deems 
most  suitable  for  the  whole,  and  should  limit  the  time 
occupied  to  the  needs  of  the  other  parts  of  the  service. 

There  is  also  a  place  in  Public  Praise  for  instrumental 
music,  either  accompanying  the  voice  or  by  itself. 

That  which  is  true  of  the  choir  is  true  of  the  organist: 
he  should  be  a  believer,  should  dedicate  his  talent  to 
God,  and  should  occupy  those  parts  and  only  so  much 
of  the  service  as  the  need  of  the  other  parts  and  of  the 
whole  service  demands. 

The  people  should  be  taught  that  the  organ  prelude  is 
not  to  occupy  the  time  while  the  people  take  their  seats, 
thus  ehcouraging  late  coming,  but  that  it  is  a  part  of  the 
praise  of  God — that  the  service  begins  with  the  first  note 
of  the  organ. 

The  opening  music  of  the  organ  should  be  short — not 
over  three  minutes  long — and  of  a  solemn  character. 
The  postlude,  at  the  close,  is  also  a  part  of  the  praise 
of  God  to  the  last  note  on  the  organ  j  and  while  the 


LITUEG.ICS  96 

people  are  leaving  the  chiirch  the  music  should  not 
march  or  dance  them  out,  but  be  of  the  character  suit- 
able to  the  last  act  of  worship. 

The  congregation  should  stand  during  the  singing 
of  the  congregational  hymns.  The  second  hymn  should 
be  followed  immediately  by  the  sermon.  The  standing 
during  the  singing  of  this  hymn  is  specially  desirable  j 
the  act  of  standing  rests  the  people,  and  the  singing  pre- 
pares them  to  listen  to  the  preached  Word  of  God.  To 
have  the  offering,  notices,  anthem,  or  anything  come 
between  that  hymn  and  the  sermon  distracts  the  atten- 
tion. 

The  objection  to  the  opening  of  the  service  with  the 
long  meter  Doxology  is  that  it  starts  the  service  at  too 
high  a  key;  it  is  difficult  to  keep  up  to  this  or  make 
any  culmination  from  it.  The  tune  of  Old  Hundred  is 
one  of  the  best  congregational  tunes,  and  the  Doxology 
itself  is  sublime;  it  is  much  better  to  use  it  as  the  closing 
hymn  by  the  congregation  and  to  have  the  whole  service 
culminate  in  it. 

III.   Reading  the  Scriptures 

The  reading  the  Scriptures  should  form  a  promi- 
nent part  of  the  Public  Worship  of  God.  Other  parts 
of  the  worship  are  addressed  to  God.  He  is  also  hon- 
ored by  the  reverent  attention  of  the  people  when  He 
speaks  directly  to  them.  It  is  seldom  best  to  select  a 
Scripture-reading  for  the  sake  of  giving  the  connection 
in  which  the  text  of  the  sermon  is  found;  to  follow 
such  a  plan  would  give  but  little  system  in  this  part  of 
the  service,  while  the  aim  should  be  to  instruct  and 
stimulate  the  people  in  the  knowledge  and  love  of  the 


94    MODEEN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

Bible.  Each  minister  should  devise  a  plan  to  give  his 
people,  through  this  part  of  the  service,  a  full  view  of 
God's  Word  during  the  course  of  a  year  or  two.  The 
responsive  reading  of  the  Psalms,  by  minister  and  people 
reading  alternate  parallels  rather  than  verses,  is  excel- 
lent. The  Psalms  should  not  be  read  through  in  course, 
however,  but  a  selection  of  those  most  adapted  to  awaken 
devout  feeling  should  be  carefully  made.  A  selection 
also  from  the  Old  Testament  and  one  from  the  New 
should  be  given. 

The  minister  should  have  all  Scripture  selections  made 
in  his  study,  and  should  carefully  prepare  himself  for 
their  effective  reading,  grasping  the  meaning  and  the 
feeling  and  the  purpose  of  the  passage  fully,  so  that  he 
may  read  in  a  way  to  convey  the  meaning,  stir  the  feel- 
ing, and  arouse  the  purpose  of  the  people.  He  should 
have  the  selected  passage  carefully  marked  in  the  pulpit 
Bible,  so  he  may  refer  to  it  easily,  without  the  irreverent 
and  disturbing  turning  of  the  pages  to  find  the  place. 
If  the  Commandments  are  read  each  Sabbath,  if  the 
Lord's  Prayer  is  repeated,  if  a  selection  from  the  Psalms 
is  read  responsively,  and  if  a  selection  from  the  Old 
Testament  and  another  from  the  New  Testament  are  well 
read,  each  service  will  give  a  place  of  honor  to  God's 
Word,  and  the  people  will  become  well  acquainted  with 
all  pa^ts  of  the  Scriptures,  and  be  incited  to  a  more  care- 
ful reading  of  them  in  private. 

IV.  Offerings 

An  offering  should  be  made  at  each  regular  serv- 
ice of  the  Lord's  day.  The  people  of  God  worship  Him 
in  contributing  of  their  means  to  the  advancement  of 


LITUEGICS  95 

His  cause.  A  prayer  may  be  made  upon  receiving  the 
offering.  Those  able  to  give  more^  who  have  carelessly 
formed  a  habit  of  contributing  a  penny^  will  see  the 
absurdity  of  praying  over  it,  and  the  offering  will  be 
lifted  up  in  their  esteem,  and  in  the  esteem  of  all,  by 
giving  it  with  prayer  to  God;  or  a  hymn  may  be  sung, 
or  the  service  may  be  accompanied  by  an  offertory  by 
choir  or  organ.  The  offering  should  be  made  before  the 
sermon,  except  in  those  cases  where  a  special  appeal  for 
some  cause  is  made  in  the  sermon,  and  it  is  deemed  best 
to  take  the  offering  upon  the  impulse  of  the  appeal. 
But  as  a  rule  the  offering  should  be  a  matter  of  principle 
rather  than  impulse. 

It  is  better  to  have  church  notices  given  by  a 
printed  calendar;  but  when  they  have  to  be  published 
from  the  pulpit  they  should  be  as  concisely  stated  as 
possible,  should  be  read  clearly  so  they  need  not  be  re- 
peated, and  should  be  only  of  church  matters.  Church 
activities  should  be  of  interest  to  all,  and  a  cordial  invi- 
tation to  unite  in  them  is  in  place  in  the  worship  of  God, 
but  notices  of  things  out  of  harmony  with  His  worship 
should  be  carefully  excluded.  The  church  notices  and 
the  offering  should  come  before  the  singing  of  the  second 
hymn. 

V.  Preaching 

The  sermon  is  an  important  part  of  the  worship 
of  God.  As  the  reading  of  the  Scriptures  is  God  speak- 
ing to  the  people  by  His  written  word,  so  the  sermon  is 
God  speaking  to  the  people  by  His  chosen  messenger, 
enforcing  His  word.  In  this  sense  it  may  be  said  to  be 
the  culminating  act  of  worship;  what  we  can  say  to  God 


96    MODEEN  PEACTIOAL  THEOLOGY 

can  not  compare  in  importance  with  what  He  says  to  us. 
If  the  minister  has  this  view  of  his  position,  he  will  con- 
duct the  whole  service  and  come  up  to  this  part  of  it  as 
thoroughly  prepared  as  consecrated  effort  and  earnest 
prayer  can  make  him.  If  the  people  have  this  view  of 
the  position,  they  will  receive  the  message  reverently  as 
from  the  Throne  of  God. 

The  whole  service  of  worship  should  not  be  over  an 
hour  and  a  half  long,  and  at  least  half  an  hour  should 
be  given  to  the  sermon. 

VI.  The  Administration  of  the  Sacraments 

Administrations  of  the  Sacraments  are  acts  of 
worship  occurring  at  stated  times,  and  should  generally 
be  in  addition  to  the  ordinary  worship  of  the  Sabbath, 
in  which  all  the  church-members  engage. 

Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper  are  signs  and  seals  of 
the  saving  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  instituted  by 
Him  to  make  spiritual  truths  clear  to  His  people;  to 
quicken  their  faith,  sealing  to  them  His  promises;  and 
to  afford  them  a  badge  or  banner  to  distinguish  them 
from  the  world.  They  are  to  be  administered  only  by 
an  ordained  minister  of  Christ  as  acting  for  the  whole 
Church  in  accepting  the  Sacraments  as  Christ  designed 
them.  The  Sacraments  do  not  make  one  a  partaker  of 
Christ's  salvation — faith  alone  can  do  that;  they  only 
express  and  strengthen  that  faith  and  show  it  forth  to 
the  world. 

Baptism  is  the  rite  of  entrance  into  the  Christian 
Church.  It  is  therefore  to  be  administered  only  to  those 
who  already  believe  in  Christ  as  their  Savior,  and  to 
their  children. 


LITUEGICS  97 

In  our  Eeformed  Church  the    elders  of  the  church, 


acting  for  the  whole  Church,  give  admission  into  the 
membership  of  the  Church  through  the  rite  of  baptism. 
Their  duty  is  to  admit  only  those  who  are  already  mem- 
bers of  Christ  by  a  true  faith.  In  judging  of  this  they 
are  limited  to  the  confession  of  faith  made  by  the  appli- 
cantj  and  can  only  judge  of  its  credibility.  The  Church 
has  no  right  to  make  any  condition  of  meml3ership  other 
than  Christ  has  made.  There  should  be  intelligence^ 
a  knowledge  of  the  facts  and  principles  of  our  religion; 
there  should  be  feeling,  a  trust  in  Christ  for  salvation; 
there  should  be  intrj)ose  to  live  a  life  of  trust  and  obedi- 
ence to  Christ^ — enough  of  these  to  constitute  one  a  ^  ^  be- 
liever in  Christ";  the  standard  should  not  be  made 
unnecessarily  high.  The  pastor  should  have  a  class 
preparing  for  Church  membershiiD  by  study  of  our  Com- 
pendium,  and  should  seek  to  have  the  young  become 
members  of  the  Church  at  the  age  of  adolescence,  as  we 
shall  see  in  our  study  of  Pedagogy,  thus  insuring  a  con- 
stant inflow  of  intelligent  members,  well  informed  and 
thoroughly  convinced  of  the  doctrines  of  the  Church. 
These  are  also  required  to  show  evidence  of  true  conver- 
sion by  having  the  feeling  and  the  purpose  in  harmony 
with  such  truths. 

But  the  entrance  to  the  Church  should  not  be 
limited  to  such  a  class,  or  to  the  amount  of  knowledge 
required  of  such  a  class;  many  immature  minds,  many 
ignorant  ones,  would  thus  be  kept  out  of  the  Church 
whom  Chiast  had  accepted  into  the  invisible  Church. 
The  evidence  of  regeneration  may  be  very  good  in  one 
largely  ignorant  of  the  doctrines  of  the  Church;  such  a 
one  should  not  be  deprived  of  his  right  to  confess  Christ 


98    MODEEX  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

before  nien^  and  of  the  fellowship  of  believers,  and  of 
the  strengthening  of  his  faith  by  the  sacraments. 

The  question  of  accepting  one  who  knows  the  doc- 
trines, but  rejects  one  or  more  of  them,  is  more  difficult — 
it  depends  upon  the  nature  of  the  doctrine  rejected  and 
upon  the  spirit  of  the  rejection  of  it.  The  Church 
should  certainly  receive  all  those  whom  it  has  good  rea- 
son to  believe  Christ  has  already  received  as  His  mem- 
bers. This  must  be  the  interpretation  put  upon  ^^the 
assent  to  all  the  articles  of  the  Christian  religion  as  they 
are  taught  in  this  Christian  chui^h,  according  to  the 
Word  of  God,"  required  in  our  Form  of  Baptism.  The 
spirit  and  practise  of  our  Church  certainly  repel  the 
supposition  that  she  has  made  any  condition  of  Church 
membership  which  would  exclude  any  sincere  believer 
in  her  Lord.  The  pastor  should  read  and  explain  the 
Form  of  Baptism  to  each  applicant  in  this  spirit,  so  that 
each  may  intelligently  and  conscientiously  answer  the 
questions. 

The  elders,  having  accepted  the  confession  of  faith, 
admit  the  applicant  to  the  Bite  of  Baptism,  which  com- 
pletes the  entrance  into  the  membership  of  the  Church. 
In  administering  baptism  the  whole  form  should  be  read, 
and  it  should  be  in  the  presence  of  the  whole  church, 
except  in  case  of  sickness.  The  baptism  may  be  by 
either  of  the  three  modes,  but  the  general  custom  of  our 
Church  of  the  mode  of  sprinkling  should  not  be  set 
aside  in  any  i)articular  instance,  except  for  the  gravest 
reasons. 

Baptism  is  also  to  be  administered  to  those  children  of 
baptized  believers  who  have  not  yet  reached  the  age  of 
discretion.     Here  also  the  baptism  does  not  make  the 


LITUEGICS  99 

child  a  member  of  Christ;  the  child  is  already  in  the 
covenant  by  the  faith  of  the  parents — one  or  both — and 
baptism  simply  signifies  that  fact.  The  parents,  in  bring- 
ing a  child  for  baptism,  do  not  give  the  child  to  God; 
they  simply  acknowledge  that  the  child  already  belongs 
to  God,  and  baptism  signifies  that  fact.  It  follows,  then, 
that  all  believing  parents  may  claim  baptism  for  their 
children,  and  the  Church  has  here  also  no  right  to  make 
any  other  condition  than  Christ  has  already  made.  The 
question,  then,  whether  a  baptized  member  of  the  Church, 
who  is  not  a  communicant,  has  a  right  to  have  a  child 
baptized  resolves  itself  into  the  question,  Is  such  a  one  a 
believer  in  Christ?  If  so,  the  right  is  undoubted,  and 
such  a  one  can  freely  take  the  promises  required  in  the 
form.  Of  that  question  the  elders  must  be  the  judges; 
the  presumption  is  in  favor  of  the  faith,  and  generally 
they  must  appeal  to  the  conscience  of  the  parent.  In 
administering  haptism  to  infants  the  whole  form  should 
be  read,  and  it  should  be  in  the  i)resence  of  the  whole 
church,  except  in  case  of  sickness.  It  is  well  to  have  a 
stated  time  for  such  baptisms,  and  it  is  suitable  to  have 
the  Sabbath  immediately  following  Communion  set  apart 
for  it.  In  the  baptism  of  a  child  at  home  an  elder 
should  be  present,  and  so  much  of  the  form  as  the  ^cir- 
cumstances of  the  case  permit  should  be  read.  In  case 
the  child  is  sick,  blood- warm  water  should  be  used  that 
no  shock  be  given.  Those  baptized  in  infancy,  when 
they  reach  the  age  of  discretion  are  admitted  to  the 
Lord's  Supper  by  the  elders  upon  confession  of  their  faith. 
The  administration  of  the  Lord's  Supper  should 
be  observed  four  times  each  year,  generally  the  first  Sab- 
bath in  each  season,  and  it  may  be  observed  oftener.     It 


100    MODERN  PRACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

should  be  observed  at  the  main  service  of  worship  in  the 
church,  and  efforts  should  be  made  to  have  all  regular 
attendants  present — non-communicants  as  well  as  mem- 
bers. The  Supper  itself  is  an  impressive  preaching  of 
the  Gospel,  ^^ showing  the  Lord's  death  till  he  come.'' 
There  should  be  a  sermon  preached,  but  it  should  be  very 
short;  and  the  other  parts  of  the  service  should  be  also 
short,  but  there  should  be  no  haste  inconsistent  with  the 
utmost  solemnity.  The  whole  service  should  not  exceed 
the  length  of  the  ordinary  morning  service,  since  deep 
feeling  is  exhausting,  and  since  especially  the  attend- 
ance of  the  aged  and  feeble  should  be  encouraged. 
AMien  members  are  received  who  are  to  be  baptized,  the 
form  should  be  read  and  the  baptism  made  before  the 
Communion.  When  members  are  received  who  were 
ba]3tized  in  infancy,  or  who  come  from  sister  churches, 
they  are  to  be  welcomed  publicly  by  the  use  of  our 
forms.  In  addition  to  these,  the  whole  of  the  Form  for 
the  Administration  of  the  Lord' s  Supper  should  be  read. 
The  reading  of  the  Self-examination  part  of  the  form 
should  not  be  read  at  the  Preparatory  Service  and 
omitted  from  the  Communion  Service;  it  is  needed  by 
all  the  communicants,  some  of  whom  may  not  have 
attended  the  Preparatory  Service;  and  it  is  especially 
needed  at  the  time  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  A  hymn  may 
be  sung  after  giving  the  Form  of  Baptism,  and  a  hymn 
may  be  sung  just  before  the  Lord's  Supper  itself,  or 
before  the  reading  of  the  form.  The  congregation 
should  stand  and  unite  in  the  Apostles'  Creed.  The 
Lord's  Prayer  should  be  used  but  once  during  the  entire 
service.  There  should  not  be  a  so-called  prayer  of  con- 
secration before  the  elements  are  used;  the  consecration 


LITUEGICS  101 

needed  is  of  the  believing  people,  and  the  prayers 
which  are  a  part  of  the  form  should  be  used,  and  these 
alone.  After  the  Communion  there  should  be  a  short 
address  by  the  pastor.  In  such  a  service  there  is  no 
place  for  long  selections  from  Scripture,  or  long  prayers, 
or  hymns,  or  for  any  special  music  on  the  organ,  but  the 
service  as  described  may  be  easily  conducted  within  an 
hour  and  a  half,  and  be  made  very  impressive  to  men 
and  expressive  of  loftiest  worship  to  God. 

The  elders  of  the  church  should  sit  on  one  side 
and  the  deacons  on  the  other  side  of  the  table.  The 
minister  should  serve  the  elders  fii-st,  and  then  the 
deacons,  and  then  the  deacons  should  serve  the  people. 
The  communicants  should  be  seated  together,  and  sepa- 
rated from  the  general  audience.  It  is  proper  for  the 
minister  to  be  served  by  one  of  the  deacons  after  the 
people.  During  the  distribution  of  both  the  bread  and 
the  wine  there  should  be  absolute  silence,  each  soul  hav- 
ing that  opportunity  for  private  meditation  and  prayer j 
no  remarks  by  the  pastor  should  disturb  this  soul  com- 
munioL  with  the  Lord  at  His  table. 

AVhethei  fermented  or  unfermented  wine  should  be 
used,  whether  common  or  individual  cups,  may  be 
decided  by  each  church.  The  minister  will  do  well  to 
leave  the  custom  he  finds  existing  unchanged.  The  min- 
ister should  have  the  record  of  baptisms,  both  adult  and 
infant,  and  of  church-members  well  kept — in  many 
cases  he  should  keep  them  himself.  There  should  be 
both  a  record  of  time  and  an  alphabetical  record  of 
names,  and  the  maiden  names  should  be  included  in  the 
names  of  married  women. 


CHAPTER  III 
POIMENICS 

Poimenics  is  the  sum  of  oiir  knowledge  of  the  nature 
of  the  pastoral  ofiSce,  and  of  the  duties  and  privileges  of 
a  pastor.  The  pastor  is  the  under-shepherd  of  Christ, 
ministering  to  a  particular  church  or  flock  of  God.  Our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  calls  Himself  ^ '  the  Good  Shepherd, ' ' 
in  John  x:ll,  and  in  Eph.  iv:ll  it  is  said  the  ascend- 
ing Christ  ^'gave  some  pastors''  (the  word  is  the 
same  in  both  statements:  poimen=shepherd) .  Hence 
poimenics  becomes  the  technical  word  to  describe  a  pas- 
tor or  shepherd.  The  pastor  has  the  spiritual  oversight 
of  a  particular  church,  consisting  of  the  conduct  of  the 
worship,  the  administering  of  the  Sacraments,  the 
preaching  of  the  Word,  and  especially  the  care  of  souls 
in  the  church  and  within  the  reach  of  the  church. 

This  Christ-given  office  (Eph.  iv:ll)  meets  the  need 
of  an  organized  society  of  believers  to  be  instructed, 
stimulated,  and  led  in  the  religious  life.  It  arose  in  the 
early  organization  of  the  Church.  The  apostle  Paul  on 
his  way  to  Jerusalem  sent  for  the  elders  of  the  church  at 
Ephesus  to  meet  him  at  Miletus,  and  in  his  address  to 
them  said:  ^^The  Holy  Ghost  hath  made  you  overseers 
(or  bishops)  to  feed  the  Church  of  God."  While  he 
calls  all  the  elders  bishops,  his  description  especially 
refers  to  the  preaching  elders  or  pastors.  In  I.  Peter 
v:l-4  the  apostle  calls  himself  an  elder,  and  exhorts 

102 


POIMENICS  108 

the  elders  "to  feed  the  flock  of  God/'  and  promises 
thein  a  rich  reward  when  the  Chief  Shepherd  shall 
appear.  The  character  of  the  office  is  thus  described 
'■ '  to  feed  the  flock  of  God ' ' ;  as  divinely  appointed  and 
meeting  a  great  need  of  the  Church,  it  is  most  elevated 
and  sacred.  It  ministers  to  the  si)iritual  and  eternal  in- 
terests of  mankind,  and  it  involves  vast  responsibilities 
and  rewards. 

The  pastor,  while  closely  related  to  several  other 
offices  mentioned  in  the  Scriptures,  is  to  be  carefully 
distinguished  from  them.  The  i)riests  of  the  Old  Tes- 
tament offered  sacrifices  for  the  sins  of  the  people.  The 
Great  High  Priest,  our  Blessed  Lord,  has  offered  Him- 
self, the  perfect  sacrifice,  and  no  further  priest  or  sacri- 
fice is  needed.  The  pastor  is  in  no  sense  a  priest,  other 
than  as  all  believers  are  priests  to  offer  the  sacrifice  of 
thanksgiving  to  God.  The  pro]^liets  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment were  preachers  of  righteousness  to  the  people  or 
nation  5  the  pastors  are  preachers  of  righteousness,  but 
to  special  churches,  tho  some  with  rich  gifts  reach 
beyond  the  special  church  to  the  nation  and  the  world. 
However,  the  prophets  had  also  the  power  of  prediction, 
and  the  most  gifted  pastor  can  claim  no  such  power. 
The  pastor  is  also  distinguished  from  the  apostles,  who 
were  sent  forth  as  witnesses  of  the  resurrection  of  Christj 
from  the  evcmgelists,  who  preached  the  Gospel,  but  were 
not  in  charge  of  any  particular  church;  from  the  elders, 
who  ruled  in  a  particular  church  but  were  not  preachers 
of  the  Word;  and  from  the  deacons,  who  ministered  spe- 
cially in  temporal  matters.  The  pastor  is  also  distin- 
guished in  our  day  from  missionaries  sent  forth  to  organ- 
ize churches  in  heathen  lands j  from  ministers  of  the 


104   MODEEN  PRACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

Word  serving  the  Church  in  various  positions,  but  not 
in  charge  of  a  particular  chuich;  and  from  licentiates^ 
those  who  are  licensed  to  preach,  and  are  candidates  for 
the  pastoral  office,  but  who  have  not  yet  been  called  to 
particular  churches. 

The  pastor's  relation  to  the  community  in  which 
the  church  is  situated  is  to  lead  the  church  in  its  divinely 
appointed  mission.  The  church  is  to  win  the  community 
for  Christ,  to  seek  the  people  for  the  good  of  the  people, 
to  advance  the  welfare  of  society  in  all  directions  through 
the  spiritual  and  eternal  welfare  of  the  largest  possible 
number  of  its  members.  The  pastor  is  to  stimulate, 
organize,  and  lead  in  this  Christ-given  and  Christlike 
mission.  The  particular  chui^ch  is  then  not  only  the 
field  in  which  the  pastor  is  to  labor,  but  the  force  with 
which  he  is  to  work  in  the  community.  The  two  objects 
never  conflict,  since  the  highest  training  he  can  give 
the  Church  is  to  lead  all  her  members  in  serving  the 
community;  and  the  pastor  and  church  that  are  not 
heartOy  devoting  themselves  to  the  welfare  of  the  com- 
munity in  which  they  dwell  can  not  be  said  to  be  honor- 
ing their  Lord  with  all  their  powers.  The  sole  object  of 
a  church  is  the  conversion  of  sinners  into  saints;  sinners 
are  wonderfully  active  for  evil,  saints  should  we  wonder- 
fully active  for  good;  enthusiastic,  wide-awake  saints 
honor  God  in  serving  their  fellow  men. 

The  pastor  dwelling  in  a  community,  then,  is  one 
whose  sole  aim  and  work  is  to  advance  the  highest  in- 
terests of  that  community.  Others  have  this  aim  in 
carrying  on  their  business  by  which  they  gain  their 
livelihood;  all  members  of  the  Church  should  do  this, 
but  this  is  the  sole  business  of  the  pastor.     He  has  had 


POIMENICS  105 

a  long  and  tliorough  training  for  this  work.  He  is  a 
specialist  in  this  kind  of  work  in  an  age  when  specialists 
have  much  power.  He  succeeds  another  specialist  in  this 
work.  The  work  is  not  new,  but  continues  in  the  hands 
of  specialists  and  so  gathers  accumulated  power.  He  is 
a  leader  in  this  work  of  an  organization,  the  Church  of 
Christ;  he  is  so  to  labor  in  that  organization  as  to  awaken 
an  enthusiasm  for  doing  good,  and  then  he  is  to  direct 
this  organized  power  to  the  welfare  of  the  community. 
This  is  a  unique  feature  of  Christian  lands.  In  heathen 
lands  a  priest  maintains  a  Temple  service.  He  seeks 
the  people  for  the  sake  of  the  Temple.  The  Church  idea 
is  to  seek  the  people  for  the  good  of  the  people — not  to 
build  itself  up  in  financial  strength  and  social  standing, 
for  that  is  the  heathen  principle,  but  to  give  itself  for 
service,  which  is  the  Christ  principle.  The  good  Church 
is  the  Church  that  does  good,  that  is  Christlike. 

In  each  community,  then,  there  is  a  man  leading  an 
organization,  and  the  sole  object  of  both  pastor  and 
church  is  the  welfare  of  the  community.  This  is  de- 
signed, established,  and  sustained  by  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ;  it  is  a  divine  institution  charged  with  divine 
power.  The  revised  version  of  Eph.  iv:12  reads: 
^^  He  gave  pastors  for  the  perfecting  of  the  saints  unto 
the  work  of  ministering.''  The  pastor  is  the  Christ- 
given  man  to  a  church  to  minister  to  the  Church  and 
through  the  Church  to  the  world.  The  Church  is  a  so- 
ciety gathered  and  swayed  by  the  spirit  of  Christ,  her 
Lord.  To  deepen  this  spirit,  to  make  each  society  one 
family  in  Christ,  filled  with  love  for  him  and  for  the 
souls  he  came  to  save,  is  the  delightful  mission  of  the 
pastor.     To  seek  this  position  is  a  worthy  ambition,  to 


106    MODEKN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

prepare  faithfully  for  it.  is  a  splendid  trainiugj  to  carry 
it  on  is  a  noble  life-work. 

God  calls  men  into  this  great  office  in  two  ways:  by 
the  inward  call,  the  voice  of  God  in  the  soul;  and  by 
the  outward  call,  the  voice  of  God  in  His  Church.  The 
inward  call  is  not  miraculous  by  audible  voice  or  visible 
sign,  but  is  the  constraining  of  the  soul  by  the  Holy 
Spirit. 

There  seem  to  be  at  least  six  characteristics  of  this  in- 
ward call  of  God. 

1.  It  embraces  conversion  and  consecration  to  the 
Savior — a  sharing  His  spirit  in  the  desire  to  save  souls 
from  sin,  and  a  genuine  passion  for  righteousness. 

2.  It  involves  the  possession  of  the  requisite  ability 
for  the  office  and  of  taste  for  it. 

3.  It  awakens  a  sense  of  duty — a  choice  of  the  will, 
and  conscience  hesitates  to  sanction  any  other  choice. 

4.  It  is  confirmed  by  the  indications  of  Providence. 

5.  It  arouses  a  determined  purpose  to  obtain  the 
necessary  training,  and  genemlly  is  approved  and 
encouraged  by  Christian  friends  and  acquaintances. 

6.  It  leads  one  to  seek  the  call  of  God  through  His 
Church.  Xo  one  can  become  the  pastor  of  a  church 
except  by  the  call  of  that  church.  But  in  the  Eeformed 
Church  there  must  be  a  general  call  by  the  whole  Chui^ch, 
leading  to  the  special  call  by  the  individual  church. 
The  power  of  the  church  is  not  original,  but  purely 
ministerial,  to  voice  the  call  of  God.  Her  mission  is  to 
give  the  outward  call  only  where  God  has  already  given 
the  inward  call,  and  then  to  induct  the  one  so  called  into 
the  pastoral  office  in  an  orderly  and  edifying  manner. 
The  method  of  exercising  this  power  in  the  Beformed 


POIMENICS  107 

Cliurch  is  the  selection  of  men  who  seem  called  of 
God,  and  the  training  of  them  in  her  Theological  Semi- 
naries. She  then  licenses  them  to  preach  the  Gospel, 
and  commends  them  to  the  individual  chiu'ches.  ^Mien 
such  a  church  calls  one  as  pastor,  the  CJassis,  if  still  con- 
vinced that  he  is  called  of  God,  ordains  him  to  the 
ministry  of  the  Gospel,  and  in  a  public  religious  service 
installs  him  as  pastor  of  that  chiux'h. 

Ordination  to  the  ministry  depends  upon  one's  being 
called  as  pastor  by  a  particular  church,  except  when  one 
becomes  a  missionary  under  the  direction  of  a  Classis  or 
in  foreign  lands,  and  only  ordained  ministers  can  be  in- 
ducted into  the  pastoral  office. 

The  only  exceptions  to  this  method  of  calling  men  are: 

1.  That  the  General  Synod  may,  in  its  discretion,  dis- 
pense with  the  training  of  the  theological  seminary  in 
whole  or  in  part,  and 

2.  Pastors  may  be  called  from  the  ministry  of  sister 
denominations. 

There  are  some  natural  qualities  which  it  is  evi- 
dent the  pastor  should  possess  and  constantly  endeavor 
to  cultivate  to  the  highest  degree. 

1.  Good  intellectual  gifts,  the  pov>'er  and  taste  for  study 
and  reasoning,  since  his  life-work  is  the  presentation  of 
the  loftiest  themes  of  thought. 

2.  A  deep,  emotional  nature,  since  he  is  to  feel  and 
minister  to  the  greatest  needs  of  man. 

3.  Good  powers  of  speech ^  since  a  prominent  part  of 
his  life-work  is  to  be  public  address. 

4.  Vigorous  bodily  health  and  a  hopeful  disposition,  so' he 
may  labor  constantly  and  cheerfully. 

It  is  equally  evident  he  should  possess  and  cultivate 


108   MODERN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

to  the  liighest  possible  degree  the  following  spiritual 
qualities: 

1.  A  strong  conviction  of  Bible  tnithSj  since  he  is  to 
preach  these  to  others. 

2.  A  deep  exjyerience  of  the  grace  of  God,  since  he  is  to 
commend  this  to  others. 

3.  A  controlling  loyalty  to  Christ,  since  he  is  to  urge 
others  to  love  Him. 

4..  A  yearning  love  for  the  souls  of  men,  since  he  is  seek- 
ing to  save  them  from  sin. 

5.  A  zeal  for  righteousnesSy  since  his  life-work  is 
to  build  up  the  Kingdom  of  Eighteousness  in  the 
world. 

There  is  a  subtle  danger  that  the  cultiA^ation  of  his 
natural  powers  may  lead  to  the  neglect  of  his  spiritual; 
this  must  be  guarded  against  in  the  Seminary  and  after- 
ward in  his  life-work.  Ko  amount  of  scholarship,  rea- 
soning power,  or  eloquence  can  compensate  for  the  lack 
of  spiritual  qualities. 

There  is  a  still  more  subtle  danger  which  must  be 
guarded  against  in  the  Seminary  and  in  after  life:  that 
the  cultivation  of  his  spiritual  qualities  may  lead  to  the 
neglect  of  his  natural  qualities.  That  is  a  deficient  kind 
of  piety  that  leads  a  minister  to  neglect  his  study;  that 
is  a  false  reliance  uj)on  the  Holy  Spirit  which  slights 
preparation  for  the  pulpit  and  the  cultivation  of  orator- 
ical powers.  It  is  a  mistaken  estimate  of  spiritual  life 
which  excuses  laziness  in  the  natural  life. 

Three  elements  are  needed  in  rounding  out  an 
ideal  and  successful  pastor: 

1.  He  must  be  a  strong  and  gracious  personality. 

2.  He  must  be  thoroughly  consecrated  to  Christ. 


POIMENICS  109 

3.  He  must  eagerly  use  all  the  privileges  and  oppor- 
tunities of  his  office. 

1.  He  must  be  strong.  His  ability,  integrity,  and  sin- 
cerity must  be  worthy  of  respect.  Character  is  back  of 
work.  No  amount  of  activity  can  take  the  place  of 
character.  The  pastor  must  be  a  well-informed  man. 
He  must  be  a  specialist  in  the  Bible.  He  should  have 
the  greatest  familiarity  with  and  ability  to  use  ^Hhe 
sword  of  the  Spirit''  in  his  work.  He  should  be  a 
master  of  theology,  an  expert  in  his  treatment  of  all  relig- 
ious subjects,  whose  saying  is  worth  listening  to  and 
demands  and  secures  respect.  He  should  also  be  fairly 
well  acquainted  with  the  main  branches  of  knowledge; 
with  the  physical  sciences,  which  treat  of  !N^ature,  God's 
other  book,  always  in  harmony  with  revelation;  with  the 
mental  sciences,  so  he  may  reach  the  minds  of  men;  with 
the  moral  sciences,  since  he  is  to  influence  the  conduct  of 
men.  He  should  be  well  acquainted  with  the  best  liter- 
ature of  the  world;  his  mind  should  be  in  touch  with  the 
great  thoughts  of  deathless  books,  the  companion  of 
the  world's  great  minds.  He  should  know  human  nature 
as  found  in  books,  in  history,  and  especially  among  his 
fellow  men,  whom  he  is  to  touch  and  influence  for  Christ. 
He  must  be  familiar  with  the  conditions  and  problems  of 
the  present  day — with  the  world,  which  he  is  to  make 
better  by  his  life-work. 

l^ot  only  should  he  be  strong,  but  he  should  be  gra- 
cious, Not  only  winsome  in  outward  manner,  but 
gracious  in  inner  spirit,  holding  all  his  strength  not  in 
proud  indulgence  but  as  a  ^^ debtor  to  all  men,"  having 
the  spirit  that  delights  to  minister  to  others. 

2.  This  personalty  must  be  entirely  consecrated    to 


110        MODERI^  PRACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

Christ;  he  is  Christ's  man,  holding  all  his  powers  to  His 
loving,  loyal  service.  The  stronger  the  personalty  and 
the  greater  the  consecration  the  better  the  preacher  and 
pastor. 

3.  Such  a  man  must  clearly  see  and  eagerly  use  all 
tlw  privileges  and  opportunities  of  his  high,  divinely  ap- 
pointed office. 

By  privileges  I  do  not  refer  to  half  fares  on  railroads, 
to  discounts  at  stores,  or  to  wearing  a  ministerial  garb. 
I  heartily  advise  against  acceptance  of  all  such  favors.  I 
believe  they  do  not  help  but  hinder  a  pastor's  approaeli 
to  men,  and  lower  the  general  estimation  for  the  minis- 
try. But  he  should  be  eager  to  preach,  to  conduct  the 
worship  of  the  people,  to  lead  in  the  teaching  of  chil- 
dren, and  to  do  all  the  duties  of  a  pastor,  not  seeing  how 
little  he  can  do  within  the  limits  of  his  call,  but  how 
much  and  how  well  he  can  serve  the  people  in  Christ's 
name. 

It  is  also  the  pastor's  privilege  to  approach  men  upon 
the  subject  of  religion;  he  has  many  opportunities  oi 
serving  men  in  the  noblest  ways,  and  all  such  privileges 
he  should  be  quick  to  see  and  eager  to  embrace. 

The  pastor  must  be  a  man  among  men.  The 
basal  quality  of  his  character  must  be  truth;  he  must  be 
a  real  man  who  speaks  and  acts  the  truth.  He  must 
have  no  deceit,  no  pretense;  he  must  be  open  and  above 
board  in  all  his  views,  speeches,  plans  and  acts — one 
whom  the  church  and  community  know  and  trust.  He 
must  aim  to  excel  in  all  the  gifts  and  graces  of  the  spirit; 
he  must  not  be  content  with  being  an  average  Christian. 
He  will  be  looked  up  to  as  an  example,  and  should  not 
indulge  any  tendencies  or  habits  unworthy  of  being  gen- 


POIMENIOS  111 

erally  followed;  but  he  should  strive  continually  to  be 
more  Christlike.  He  can  not  hope  to  lead  others  nearer 
to  Christ  than  he  stands  himself.  He  must  live  in  the 
presence  and  power  of  God  if  he  would  have  others  do  so. 

He  must  cultivate  the  finest  social  ability.  In 
all  his  intercourse  with  his  people  he  must  be  a  gentle- 
man in  manners,  observing  the  habits  of  good  society, 
and  especially  a  gentleman  in  spirit,  having  considera- 
tion for  the  rights  and  feelings  of  others.  He  must  cul- 
tivate sociability  so  that  he  delights  in  society,  and  has 
facility  in  meeting  jDeople  and  influencing  them;  he  must 
be  a  hearty,  genial,  pleasing  gentleman,  and  then  he 
must  use  all  his  social  qualities  for  the  highest  welfare  of 
all  he  meets.  His  charm  of  personality  must  be  a  gen- 
eral incentive  to  Christian  living,  and  be  faithfully  used 
by  him  in  the  service  of  Christ. 

Certain  elements  enter  into  successful  pastoral  work. 

1.  System.  There  must  be  a  plan  which  gives  the 
right  proportion  of  attention  to  the  different  depart- 
ments of  work.  Many  ministers  break  down  from  lack 
of  system,  many  more  neglect  parts  of  the  work.  An 
immense  amount  of  work  can  be  done  with  ease  by  hav- 
ing a  thorough  system. 

2.  Enthusiasm.  Cultivate  this  in  every  possible  way. 
Delight  in  one's  work  leads  generally  to  success. 

S.  Oitimism.  Discouragement  and  despondency,  how- 
ever great  the  causes  for  them,  can  find  no  place  in  a 
Christ-filled  heart.  Look  not  at  the  difficulties,  but  at 
the  Master  of  difficulties,  who  has  given  you  your  work 
to  do  and  is  ever  present  with  you. 
*'  God's  in  His  heaven, 
All's  right  with  the  world." 


112      modee:n^  peactical  theology 

The  pastor  has  clear  duties  to  individuals.  His 
ministry  to  congregations  in  the  Church  by  public 
address  should  not  content  him;  he  should  appeal  to 
families  and  individuals. 

However  good  a  preacher  one  may  be,  if  he  does 
not  speak  to  individuals  upon  the  subject  of  personal 
religion,  the  individual  will  soon  conclude  either  that 
the  pastor  is  timid  or  does  not  know  how,  which 
only  affects  the  pastor;  or  that  the  pastor  has  no  in- 
terest in  him  personally;  or  that  his  earnestness  in 
the  pulpit  is  put  on,  that  he  does  not  believe  what 
he  preaches,  which  affects  the  cause;  and  what  the 
neglected  individual  feels  will  be  at  length  felt  by  the 
whole  church  and  community.  The  view  that  religion 
is  a  matter  between  each  soul  and  God,  and  that  a  third 
party  can  not  speak  to  such  a  soul  without  being  rude 
and  intrusive,  can  hardly  be  sustained  generally,  but  it 
certainly  does  not  apply  to  a  pastor;  for  the  people  ex- 
pect him  to  take  an  interest  in  their  religious  condition, 
and  are  disappointed  and  bewildered  if  he  fails  to  do  so. 
Besides,  a  pastor  can  not  expect  the  members  of  his 
church  to  seek  the  conversion  of  souls  by  personal  appeal 
if  he  himself  fails  to  incite  and  lead  them  in  this  blessed 
work.  But  to  speak  to  an  individual  to  avoid  criticism  or 
from  a  mere  sense  of  duty,  while  better  than  not  speak- 
ing at  all,  is  not  so  apt  to  succeed  as  speaking  with  the 
longi\ig  to  win  the  soul  to  Christ.  If  one  has  this  long- 
ing he  will  select  such  times  and  ways  as  will  be  apt  to 
lead  to  success.  To  speak  to  save  one' s  conscience  because 
one  ought  to  is  good,  but  not  so  good  as  speaking  from 
love  for  Christ  and  for  souls.  The  love  of  souls  and  of 
ministering  to  their  varied  needs  does  away  with  the  dis- 


POIIVIENICS  113 

tiuction  between  a  social  and  a  religious  call ;  it  makes 
all  calls  religious^  tho  the  subject  of  religion  be  not  men- 
tioned. This  love  is  ever  watching  and  i)reparing  for 
making  an  api^eal  that  has  fair  prospects  of  success;  it 
will  avoid  speaking  of  religion  at  wrong  times,  while  it 
is  always  seeking  for  and  promptly  employing  the  right 
time;  the  object  is  not  to  ease  one's  own  conscience  but 
to  win  the  soul  for  Christ,  and  it  seeks  means  to  that  end. 
The  pastor  has  the  care  of  souls;  he  should  be  intent  to 
ascertain  and  minister  to  their  spiritual  needs.  Any 
call  that  does  this  is  a  good  pastoral  call,  tho  religion  is 
not  mentioned;  any  call  that  does  not  do  this  is  a  poor 
pastoral  call,  tho  religion  is  the  sole  subject  of  conversa- 
tion. 

The  pastor  should  be  in  personal  contact  with  all 
classes  and  ages  in  the  community  as  well  as  in  the 
church;  he  should  have  a  deep  interest  in  all  that  con- 
cerns them,  and  a  special  interest  in  their  spiritual  needs. 
All  class  distinctions  should  be  lost  in  his  interest  in  im- 
mortal souls.  None  should  be  neglected,  neither  the 
rich  nor  the  poor,  the  learned  nor  the  unlearned,  the 
socially  high  nor  the  socially  low.  The  greater  the 
spiritual  need  the  greater  should  be  the  desire  to  minis- 
ter. The  pastor  should  not  spare  himself,  but  devote 
himself  to  the  people  systematically  and  constantly. 
There  should  be  system  in  calling,  so  that  none  may 
be  slighted,  so  that  all  may  have  due  attention  paid 
them.  The  aged,  the  sick,  the  bereaved,  the  tempted 
and  tried,  should  have  the  special  attention  their  needs 
demand.  The  times  of  calling  should  be  the  most  con- 
venient for  the  people;  so  the' number  of  calls  that  which 
is  best  for  the  people.     The  pastor  does  not  consider 


lU    MODEKX  PKACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

himself,  but  the  sheep.  The  under- shepherd  should  be 
like  the  Great  Shepherd  in  being  able  to  sav:  "I  know 
my  sheep  and  am  kno\m  of  mine, ' '  and  he,  too,  should 
' '  seek  for  the  lost  sheep. 

The  main  elements  of  effectiveness  in  the  pas- 
tor s  work  with  individuals  are  three : 

1.  The  pastor's  Jove  for  them.  This  will  lead  to  the 
most  careful  preparation  for  calling:  he  will  consider 
the  families  and  persons  in  their  needs  while  still  in  his 
study,  and  think  how  best  to  meet  these  needs.  Then 
his  love  will  lead  to  sympathy,  tact,  patience,  persever- 
ance— all  that  the  human  heart  can  do  for  the  people. 

2.  The  guidance  and  poicer  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  The 
pastors  preparation  for  calls,  as  for  the  pulpit,  should 
always  be  in  the  earnestness  of  prayer  as  well  as  reli- 
ance upon  human  skill.  The  pastor  desires  in  every 
instance  to  lead  to  Christ,  or  to  lead  to  greater  Christ - 
likeness,  and  he  may  well  pray  that  the  Holy  Spirit  will 
lead  him  to  lead  others. 

S.  Familiarity  icith  the  English  Bible.  He  should  l^e  so 
familiar  with  it  that  he  can  use  it  easily,  promptly,  and 
effectively  in  every  case:  in  the  sick-room  and  in  the 
inquiry- room,  with  the  l^ereaved  and  troubled,  with  the 
impenitent  and  cai-eless,  with  the  awakened  and  anxious 
— ^to  each  one  bringing  the  right  message  from  God 
through  His  Word. 

It  will  be  well,  by  a  system  of  cards  or  booLs,  to  have 
full  information  concerning  all  the  families  and  pei^ons 
in  your  charge,  and  also  a  strictly  private  book,  so 
arranged  that  if  it  should  fall  into  the  hands  of  another 
there  will  be  no  clew  to  the  x>ersons  descril3ed,  in  which 
such  records  of  former  interviews  and  of  the  needs  dig- 


POIMEOTCS  115 

covered  may  be  preserved,  and  be  always  ready  for  use 
in  preparing  for  calls.  The  latter  book  need  have  no 
name,  but  be  related  to  the  former  by  a  complicated 
system  of  numbers. 

In  our  Eeformed  Church  family  visitation  is  required 
in  the  call  given  the  pastor,  and  the  Classis  each  year 
inquires  of  the  minister  and  elder  if  it  has  been  faith- 
fully performed. 

To  publish  from  the  pulpit  that  calls  will  be  made  on 
a  certain  street  at  a  certain  time  is  rarely  advisable.  It 
is  too  formal  and  formidable,  it  requests  too  much 
consideration  for  the  pastor' s  convenience,  and  often  the 
ones  he  needs  to  see  most  will  absent  themselves.  Let 
him  sacrifice  his  convenience  and  wait  on  his  people. 
The  women  of  the  family  may  generally  be  found  at 
home,  but  it  is  often  difficult  to  reach  the  men.  One 
should  call  upon  them  in  their  places  of  business  only 
when  he  knows  his  call  will  not  distract  or  hinder  them 
in  their  work,  or  if  he  has  special  business  of  sufficient 
importance  to  justify  the  call;  or  he  may  strive  to  meet 
them  at  their  homes  after  business  hours;  or  he  may 
seek  an  appointment  with  them  at  a  convenient  time;  or 
he  may  appeal  to  them  by  letter.  His  love  for  them 
should  be  so  great  that  he  finds  the  right  way  through 
all  difficulties.  The  Eoman  Catholic  Church  forbids 
such  family  visiting;  other  Churches  permit  it;  our 
Church  requires  it.  The  members  of  the  Catholic  Church 
are  required  to  come  to  the  Lord's  Supper  by  means  of 
the  confessional.  They  come  to  the  pastor  rather  than 
expect  him  to  visit  them.  In  some  Protestant  churches 
the  members  give  notice  to  the  pastor  that  they  desire  to 
come  to  the  next  Lord's  Supper.     In  the  Scotch  Presby- 


116    MODEEN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

terian  Church  tokens  are  given  admitting  to  the  Com- 
munion j  in  this  case,  too,  the  members  come  to  the 
pastor  rather  than  expect  him  to  visit  them.  Formerly 
in  our  Church  an  elder  was  expected  to  accompany  the 
pastor  in  the  family  visitation,  and  it  was  expected  that 
the  visit  should  discover  the  spiritual  condition,  with 
particular  reference  to  coming  to  the  Lord's  Supper,  and 
in  some  portions  of  our  Church  this  systematic  visita- 
tion with  an  elder  is  still  observed. 

The  manner  of  fulfilling  the  requirement  of  the  call 
is,  however,  not  prescribed.  The  pastor  should  visit  all 
the  families  of  his  church  frequently  for  mutual  acquaint- 
ance and  enjoyment,  and  he  should  make  faithful  use  of 
the  fellowship  thus  formed  to  lead  the  unconverted  to 
Christ  and  the  members  of  the  Church  into  ever-growing 
Christlikeness. 

Preaching  and  pastoral  work,  while  distinct,  still 
supplement  each  other  both  in  the  minister  and  in  his 
efficiency  among  the  people.  The  minister  is  helped  in 
the  careful  preparation  of  his  sermons  by  conversing 
with  his  people  on  religious  subjects,  getting  their  points 
of  view,  manner  of  thinking  and  of  feeling,  and  thus 
being  stimulated  in  presenting  the  Gospel  from  the  pul- 
pit. So  he  who  faithfully  preaches  the  truths  of  the 
Gospel  will  be  stimulated  to  follow  them  up  by  trying  to 
enforce  them  upon  individuals,  with  the  longing  to  see 
the  blessed  results  in  their  lives.  He  should  have  such 
a  system  of  study  and  of  visiting  that  one  would  not 
conflict  with  or  hinder  the  other.  So  with  his  efficiency 
among  the  people:  his  welcome  by  them  and  his  per- 
sonal influence  upon  them  will  depend  very  largely 
upon  his  power  in  the  pulpit.     If  he  is  strong  in  the 


POIMEmCS  117 

pulpit  liis  word  will  be  welcomed  and  have  weight  in 
private.  Ou  the  other  hand,  his  strength  in  the  pulpit 
will  be  augmented  in  its  effect  upon  the  people  by  their 
respect  for  him  as  a  pastor.  The  striking  saying  of 
Chalmers,  ^^A  house-going  minister  makes  a  church- 
going  people/'  is  illustrated  by  Chalmers  himself — a 
great  preacher  and  a  great  pastor.  Had  he  been  weak 
and  slovenly  in  the  pulpit,  his  church  would  not  have 
been  so  crowded;  had  he  kept  aloof  from  his  people,  he 
would  not  have  had  such  an  influence  upon  them. 

The  pastor  should  have  an  interest  in  his  people,  in  their 
health  and  prosperity,  so  great  that  when  sickness  and 
trouble  come  they  instinctively  turn  to  him,  and  he 
promptly  attends  to  them.  The  ordinary  work  of  the 
pastor  prepares  both  him  and  his  people  for  the  special 
services  they  may  need. 

When  admitted  to  the  sicTc-room  he  should  remember 
that  mental  and  spiritual  anxiety  often  have  much  to  do 
with  bodily  sickness.  He  should  always  strive  to  allay 
these,  and  should  guard  against  awakening'or  increasing 
them.  He  conies,  as  the  minister  of  Christ,  to  direct  the 
faith  of  the  sick  to  the  gracious  Savior,  able  and  willing 
to  save  all  who  come  to  Him.  He  comes  from  the  lov- 
ing Father  to  awaken  a  strong  and  quiet  trust  in  Him 
which  shall  allay  all  care  and  anxiety.  A  prayer  for 
recovery  and  for  the  resting  of  the  soul  on  Christ  is 
proper  and  generally  desired — often  requested.  The 
call  should  be  short,  the  manner  subdued,  but  cheerful 
and  hopeful,  and  all  that  could  annoy  the  most  sensitive 
sick  one — as  cold  hands,  smell  of  tobacco  smoke,  loud 
talking — should  be  carefully  avoided. 

Oftentimes  the  physician  has  given  directions  that  no 


118    MODEEN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

one  shall  be  admitted  to  the  sick-room,  or  just  at  the 
time  of  the  call  of  the  pastor  the  sick  one  can  not  see 
him;  in  all  such  cases  let  the  call  be  one  of  sympathy 
with  the  family  and  kindly  messages  to  the  sick.  In 
cases  of  bereavement  and  trouble  the  prompting  of  the 
pastor's  heart  should  at  once  call  him  to  the  side  of  his 
people.  Before  he  goes  he  should  prayerfully  and 
tenderly  think  of  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  the  case, 
so  that  he  comes  into  deep  sympathy  with  the  troubled. 
As  the  servant  of  Christ  he  should  be  troubled  in  their 
trouble,  bereaved  in  their  bereavement,  and  then  from 
his  full  heart  of  Christlike  love  he  will  bring  to  them 
the  needed  help  from  the  Lord. 

Funeral  services  should  be  conducted  in  harmony 
with  the  request  of  the  family  and  the  customs  of  the 
place.  Some  request  that  only  the  burial  service  be 
used.  Generally  the  local  custom  is  to  add  either  an 
address  or  a  sermon.  Both  in  prayer  and  in  sermon  the 
effort  should  be,  not  to  stir  emotion  into  expression,  but 
to  quiet  it,  and  to  bring  comfort  to  the  afflicted.  While 
eulogy  should  not  be  largely  used,  still  we  may  speak 
of  the  good  qualities  of  the  dead  in  a  way  that  approves 
itself  to  general  opinion  and  that  can  not  be  regarded  as 
a  passport  into  Heaven.  The  minister  is  not  to  exercise 
the  office  of  a  judge  either  to  commend  or  to  condemn. 
Church  membership  may  be  mentioned  as  a  proper  con- 
fession of  Christ  on  earth,  and  often  there  are  eminent 
saints  whom  the  whole  community  delights  to  honor.  But 
the  comfort  of  the  afflicted  can  be  more  fully  reached  by 
preaching  about  the  compassion  of  the  Savior  than 
about  the  virtues  of  the  departed,  however  generally 
acknowledged  they  may  be.     Besides,  the  pastor  should 


POIMENICS  119 

eagerly  embrace  and  wisely  use  the  opportunity  faith- 
fully and  lovingly  to  preach  Christ  to  those  who  do  not 
generally  attend  upon  the  preaching  of  the  Word.  They 
are  in  the  solemn  presence  of  their  dead  friend  or 
acquaintance;  they  are  tender  in  feeling  with  the  be- 
reaved family;  they  are  at  a  religious  service  in  which 
they  expect  religious  teaching  and  appeal,  and  the  pastor 
has  a  fitting  and  hopeful  opportunity  to  show  to  immortal 
souls  the  glorioas  Savior  of  sinners. 

The  pastor  is  not  only  to  share  their  sorrows  with  his 
people,  he  enters  also  into  their  joys.  The  emotional 
nature  of  the  pastor,  however  deep  and  strong,  would 
wear  itself  out — or  wear  him  out — if  it  were  wholly  ex- 
ercised in  cases  of  trouble;  it  needs  the  sunshine  as  well 
as  the  shadow.  The  people  also  have  a  right  to  the  fel- 
lowship of  their  pastor  in  their  pleasures  as  well  as  in 
their  sorrows.  In  every  congregation,  especially  in 
large  ones,  there  is  much  of  both;  and  the  transitions  of 
the  pastor  are  sometimes  great  and  swift.  He  should 
place  himself  in  the  place  of  the  sorrowful,  and  just  as 
truly  in  the  place  of  the  joyful;  and  with  both  he  should 
be  a  fully  rounded,  genuine,  and  sincere  man,  as  his 
Master  was,  in  His  spirit  and  for  His  sake. 

The  pastor  should  not  allow  his  people  to  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  there  are  some  pleasures  they  may  have 
which  it  would  be  wrong  for  him  to  share;  he  may 
deprive  himself  of  them  for  other  reasons,  not  because 
they  are  sinful.  There  are  not  two  standards  of  right. 
With  regard  to  card-playing  and  dancing,  if  the  people 
wait  until  the  pastor  leaves  the  party  and  then  feel  free 
to  indulge,  their  consciences  become  confused — they  for- 
get that  God  is  still  there.     In  this  respect  also  the  pas- 


120    MODEEN  PRACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

tor  must  be  absolutely  true.  If  he  thinks  these  things 
are  wrong  he  should  prove  it  to  himself  from  the  Scrip- 
tures, and  then  preach  it.  If  he  can  not  do  this  he 
should  frankly  say  they  are  not  sinful,  that  they  may  be 
abused,  and  that  they  have  evil  tendencies  which  should 
be  carefully  guarded  against;  that  he  himself  has  a  right 
to  indulge  in  them,  but  does  not  because  of  the  tender 
conscience  of  some  and  because  he  has  no  time  or  taste 
for  them,  and  those  who  choose  may  follow  his  example. 
The  same  course  should  be  pursued  with  regard  to 
smoking,  wine- drinking,  and  theater-going.  Do  not  let 
any  one,  especially  a  young  person,  think  he  has  com- 
mitted a  sin  unless  you  can  clearly  show  him  from 
God's  law  that  it  is  a  sin. 

The  marriage  ceremony  performed  by  the  pastor 
has  the  purpose  to  bring  out  and  make  clear  a  higher 
and  holier  idea  of  marriage  than  the  mere  bond  or  con- 
tract of  State  law  would  suggest. 

The  pastor  has  several  clear  duties  in  the  matter: 

1.  He  should  only  act  within  the  requirements  of  the 
laws  of  the  State  in  which  the  marriage  is  made. 

2.  He  should  from  the  pulpit  teach  the  people  God's 
law  and  ideal  of  marriage,  and  who  may  properly  enter 
the  marriage  state. 

3.  He  should,  as  far  as  possible,  uphold  parental 
authority.  He  should  urge  the  gaining  of  the  approval 
of  the  parents  even  when  the  parties  are  of  the  age 
required  by  State  law. 

4.  He  should  refuse  to  recognize  the  validity  of  any 
divorce  by  any  State  law  for  other  than  Scriptural 
grounds.  He  should  in  all  these  respects  be  careful  to 
perform  the  religious  ceremony  only  where  there  are 


POIMENICS  121 

good  reasons  to  believe  the  holy  relation  it  signifies  will 
exist.  The  ceremony  itself  should  be  solemnly  per- 
formed; and  at  its  close  the  parties  should  be  pronounced 
husband  and  wife. 

A  reheai^sal  may,  and  frequently  should,  be  had,  but 
care  should  be  taken  that  it  is  not  a  farce  on  the  one 
hand  or  the  marriage  itself  on  the  other.  In  after- 
anniversary  celebrations  of  the  marriage  an  address  may 
be  made  to  the  parties,  but  the  ceremony  itself  should 
never  be  repeated. 

The  pastor  should  focalize  all  his  work  on  the 
conversion  of  souls  and  their  cultivation  in  Christ- 
likeness.  As  he  should  ask  himself  before  preparing 
each  sermon,  ^^What  do  I  intend  to  do  with  this  ser- 
mon?'^ so  before  calling  upon  his  people  or  performing 
any  service  he  should  ask  himself,  ' '  What  do  I  intend 
to  accomplish  by  this  service?"  He  should  have  but 
one  aim — the  glory  of  Christ  in  the  salvation  of  souls — 
and  he  should  intelligently  direct  all  his  efforts  to  that 
end.  Since  Christ  came  to  save  souls,  any  growth  in 
Christlikeness  in  the  pastor  or  in  his  people  must  include 
a  longing  for  the  conversion  of  souls  to  Christ.  That 
kind  of  preaching  which  is  specially  designed  to  culti- 
vate Christian  character  inust  be  deficient  in  method  or 
power  which  results  in  a  church  becoming  sluggish  in 
seeking  the  salvation  of  souls.  The  pastor  should  fre- 
quently review  his  sermon-book,  look  back  over  the  sub- 
jects of  three  months  or  longer,  and  see  whether  he  has 
placed  enough  emphasis  upon  evangelistic  preaching — 
the  appeal  of  the  atoning  death,  the  drawing  of  the 
Christ  lifted  up.  The  pastor  should  expect  that  his  ser- 
mons and  life-work  and  the  life  and  j)reaching  of  his 


122    MODEEX  PRACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

people  should  lead  many  to  seek  salvation  in  Christ,  and 
should  encourage  and  give  all  needed  opportunity  for  all 
such  to  consult  him  who  may  desire  to  do  so.  He  should 
frequently  preach  a  sermon  of  such  a  character  that  the 
proper  and  expected  thing  would  be  his  announcing 
from  the  pulpit  at  the  close  of  the  sermon  his  desire  to 
meet  at  some  appointed  time  and  place  those  interested 
in  the  matter;  it  may  be  best  to  have  the  time  and  place 
then  and  there,  or  on  Monday  evening  at  his  house,  or 
his  desii-e  to  call  upon  those  who  invite  him.  Such  an 
invitation  would  incite  parents  to  speak  to  their  chil- 
dren, teachers  to  their  scholars,  friends  to  friends,  on 
their  souls'  salvation.  The  pastor  should  avoid  that 
kind  of  life  and  preaching  which  would  make  such  an 
invitation  an  astonishment  to  his  people.  Such  an  invi- 
tation should  always  be  given  a  week  or  two  before  Com- 
munion, but  should  not  be  limited  to  that  season.  The 
appointment  of  a  Decision  Day  for  Sunday-school  and 
church  has  the  advantage  of  expecting  and  giving  an 
opportunity  for  decision,  but  the  serious  disadvantages 
of  making  these  decisions  too  rare,  and  of  rendering 
mechanical  and  formal  that  which  should  be  emphat- 
ically spontaneous  and  spiritual. 

Besides  the  steady  effort  for  the  conversion  of  souls, 
securing  the  addition  to  the  Church  of  some  on  confes- 
sion of  faith  at  each  Communion,  the  pastor  should  lead 
the  church  to  make  a  special  effort  to  reach  the  commu- 
nity at  appropriate  seasons  with  intent  to  win  a  large 
number  of  souls  for  Christ.  It  is  important  he  should 
have  clear  views  of  revivals  and  of  the  proper  efforts  to 
secure  them. 

Revivals  for  the  conversion  of  souls  may  be  dis- 


POIMEXICS  123 

tinguished  from  revivals  of  righteousness.  There  should 
never  be  any  need  of  the  latter;  the  people  of  God  should 
always  be  just  and  true  in  their  business  and  social  re- 
lations, in  summer  and  winter,  at  home  or  abroad,  on 
vacation  or  at  work.  The  united  and  enthusiastic  effort 
of  a  church  to  impress  the  imj^ortance  of  religion  upon  a 
community  may,  however,  be  greater  at  one  time  than 
at  another,  and  still  be  healthful  at  all  times;  efforts  for 
such  revivals  should  be  regularly  made.  Whenever 
there  is  both  a  lowering  of  the  standard  of  righteousness 
and  a  cooling  of  the  desire  to  save  souls  prevailing  in  a 
church,  then  sui^ely  a  revival  of  both  should  be  eagerly 
sought. 

A  revival  of  religion  may  be  described  as  an  intense, 
contagious,  and  wide-spread  interest  in  religion  in  a 
church  and  community.  It  has  two  characteristics:  it 
magnifies  Christ's  saving  power.  His  atoning  work  and 
Divine  grace;  and  it  results  in  holy  living. 

There  are  two  distinct  elements  entering  into  the 
growth  and  i)rogress  of  such  a  revival: 

1.  The  recognized  presence  and  power  of  the  Holy 
Ghost. 

The  Holy  Ghost  is  sovereign,  and  His  work  is  mys- 
terious. He  is  sovereign:  without  Him  our  work  is 
vain.  But  He  is  not  capricious:  we  know  His  mission 
and  His  character,  and  may  rely  uj)on  Him  to  convince 
of  sin  through  Christ,  and  to  work  holiness  in  Christ. 
Our  Savior  so  teaches  in  John  xvi.  His  work  is  myste- 
rious: He  converts  souls;  we  can  not  see  how,  but  we 
know  it  is  by  means  of  the  truth.  He  gives  power — the 
baptism  of  power,  it  has  been  called;  but  the  one  who  has 
His  aims  and  acts  on  His  methods  may  rely  upon  His 


124    MODERN  PRACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

power.  The  Holy  Ghost  is  as  much  needed  in  the  con- 
version of  a  single  soul  as  of  a  multitude.  While  He  is 
sovereign  He  reveals  Himself  in  a  way  to  be  depended 
upon  to  bless  faithful  and  earnest  labor  through  the  pres- 
entation of  truth  for  the  conversion  of  a  single  soul  and 
for  the  conversion  of  a  multitude  of  souls.  We  honor 
Him  by  thus  relying  upon  Him  and  laboring  with  Him 
far  more  than  by  listlessly  waiting  to  be  thrilled  by  His 
mysterious  power. 

2.  The  earnest  and  believing  efforts  of  Christians. 

A  revival  as  an  intense,  contagious,  and  wide-spread 
interest  in  society  is  not  confined  to  religion.  It  fol- 
lows a  time  of  depression,  when  there  may  have  been 
true  interest,  but  not  of  an  intense  and  contagious  social 
character.  Such  revivals  are  known  in  Trade,  in  Edu- 
cation, in  Temperance,  in  Police  reform,  in  Political 
affairs,  and  in  Patriotism.  Such  revivals  are  not  foreign 
to  the  principles  of  human  nature,  are  not  unhealthy,  to 
be  guarded  against,  but  wholesome,  to  be  sought.  God 
works  in  all  revivals.  He  has  made  man  capable  of 
social  enthusiasm,  and  so  lifts  him  out  of  low  and  slug- 
gish life  in  many  departments  into  lofty  and  intense  life, 
making  great  advances  in  social  conditions.  We  may 
reasonably  infer,  therefore,  that  when  God  works  in  the 
loftiest  department  of  life,  the  religious  revival,  it  will 
not  be  in  conflict  with  His  methods  of  work  in  other  re- 
vivals. Among  the  forces  producing  revivals  in  general 
the  most  easily  discerned  and  prominent  are  at  least /oi^r, 
tho  of  unequal  value: 

1.  A  few  earnest  individuals  who  see  the  need  of  a 
revival. 

2.  A  society  capable  of  social  enthusiasm. 


POIMEXICS  125 

3.  An  intelligeut  and  earnest  effort  on  the  part  of  the 
few  earnest  individuals  to  awaken  the  social  enthusiasm 
by  suitable  information,  appeal,  and  i)ersonal  influence. 

4.  A  time  favorable  for  awakening  enthusiasm  for  the 
particular  cause,  when  the  society  to  be  awakened  is  not 
absorbed  by  some  other  interest.  These  four  forces  being 
present,  there  is  a  reasonable  prospect  of  a  revival  on 
any  subject  of  general  interest  to  society.  It  is  obvious 
that  these  four  forces  must  be  present  in  a  religious  re- 
vival: the  earnest  spiritual  few,  the  pastor  surely  among 
them — such  revivals  begin  frequently  in  the  prayer- 
meeting;  the  church  and  the  larger  society,  the  com- 
munity; suitable  information  and  personal  appeal  from 
the  pulpit  and  becoming  general  among  the  people;  the 
favorable  season  of  the  year  to  be  seized  by  the  watchful 
pastor.  To  these  four  forces  we  must  add  the  first  ele- 
ment already  spoken  of — the  recognized  presence  and 
power  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  In  a  religious  revival  this  is 
always  present,  the  depending,  trusting,  earnest  prayer 
for  the  Divine  power,  and  the  presence  of  that  power  in 
answer  to  prayer. 

Revivals  have  a  history.  A  large  feature  of  the 
history  of  religion  in  all  ages  is  a  history  of  revivals. 
A  glance  at  this  history  of  religious  revivals  will  recog- 
nize these  four  forces  constantly  working,  accompanied 
by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  will  quicken  faith 
that  God  will  accom^Dany  them  with  His  blessing  when- 
ever they  are  faithfully  used. 

Revivals  will  have  a  future.  They  will  not  be  out- 
grown and  left  behind.  While  human  nature  remains 
as  at  present  constituted,  and  this  dispensation  of  the 
Divine  grace  lasts,  revivals  will  last.     The  rising  and 


126    MODEEN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

falling  of  social  interest  on  imi>ortant  matters  seems  to 
be  a  law  of  social  life.  Such  a  law  of  flood  and  ebb  pre- 
vails in  all  life,  vegetable  and  animal — a  kind  of  rhythm 
of  natural  life,  growing,  standing  still,  acting,  resting; 
only  in  nature  there  seems  a  regularity  about  the  pul- 
sating of  change,  the  ebb  followed  at  regular  intervals 
by  the  flood.  In  the  Old  Testament  dispensation  the 
great  feasts  recurring  at  regular  times  seem  to  have  been 
designed  by  God  for  the  periodical  quickening  of  the 
social  religious  life.  Eevivals  are  wild  and  untamable 
in  i)roportion  as  they  are  rare,  and  they  are  healthful 
and  reasonable  as  they  are  frequent.  The  Eoman  Catho- 
lic and  the  Episcopal  churches  seek  revivals  in  their 
yearly  observance  of  Lent.  If  our  Church  should  make 
a  united,  prayerful  effort  once  a  year  at  a  suitable  time 
to  win  souls  in  large  numbers  to  Christ  it  would  place 
itself  in  line  with  the  workings  of  nature  and  of  grace, 
and  might  reasonably  expect  abundant  success. 

The  number  and  character  of  the  special  meetings,  if 
any,  and  the  methods  of  reaching  decisions  will  vary 
with  times  and  places.  Calling  in  an  evangelist  is  rarely 
advisable.  Each  pastor  should  cultivate  his  evangelistic 
powers  in  preaching  and  working  and  in  leading  his 
people,  and  should  adopt  the  methods  most  in  harmony 
with  the  taste  and  ability  of  both  himself  and  his  peo- 
ple. The  spirit  for  the  work  is  the  main  thing;  it  will 
seek  the  projier  method.  The  lifting  the  hand  or  rising 
on  the  feet  in  an  assembly  as  asking  the  prayers  of  God's 
people,  or  as  confessing  faith  in  Christ,  is  a  method 
frequently  adopted.  It  requires  some  courage;  it  mani- 
fests the  decision  and  so  confirms  it;  it  sets  an  example 
for  others,  and  has  other  good  features  ;  but,  on  the  other 


POIMENICS  127 

hand,  it  may  be  a  matter  of  mere  imi)ulse,  or  yielding  to 
the  urgency  of  the  leader  or  friends,  or  having  a  desire 
for  i)rominence,  or  simply  following  the  example  of 
others,  and  it  has  other  bad  features.  One  of  the  best 
methods,  as  both  encouraging  prompt  decision  and  giv- 
ing at  the  same  time  due  deliberation  and  individual 
initiative,  is  an  after- meeting  following  the  general 
meeting  for  all  those  specially  interested,  and  this  fol- 
lowed by  an  inquiry  meeting.  In  the  after-meeting  a 
general  address  is  to  be  made,  short  and  pointed,  and  all 
are  invited  to  stay  to  the  inquiry  meeting  who  desire 
to  learn  more  fully  of  the  Christian  life  with  intent  to 
follow  it.  At  the  inquiry  meeting  each  one  should  in 
turn  receive  private  counsel  from  the  pastor,  or  if  there 
are  many  inquirers  from  the  pastor's  chosen  and  trained 
assistants.  The  one  who  works  with  inquirers  should 
have  a  few  strong  jDassages  of  Scripture  adapted  to  each 
case  that  is  liable  to  arise — passages  that  are  not  subject 
to  debate  or  cavil,  but  clear  directions  from  God's 
Word  to  a  perplexed  and  anxious  soul.  The  pastor 
should  carefully  make  a  selection  of  such  passages  for  his 
own  use,  and  should  train  his  helpers  in  such  use  of  the 
Bible.  The  advantages  of  this  method  are  that  it  culti- 
vates a  deliberate  and  intelligent  decision,  and  throws 
about  this  sacred  moment  of  the  soul  a  proper  privacy. 
The  public  confession  of  Christ  follows  by  uniting  with 
the  Church  in  the  regular  way.  The  signing  of  cards, 
requesting  the  pastor  to  call,  is  also  a  method  fre- 
quently used. 

The  prayer-meeting  of  a  church  is  a  matter  of 
utmost  importance.  A  church  may  be  regarded  as 
having  two  hands — one  stretched  up  and  laying  hold 


128    MODEEN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

upon  the  throne  of  Divine  grace,  the  other  stretched  out 
in  loving  service  of  mankind.     As  the  pulse  beats  strong 
in  each,  the  spiritual  life  of  the  church  is  strong. 
The  prayer- meeting  should  have  three  objects : 

1.  The  cultivation  of  the  devotional  spirit  of  the 
church. 

2.  The  fostering  of  the  growth  of  brotherly  love  among 
the  church -members. 

3.  The  stimulating  the  work  of  the  church  in  the  com- 
munity and  the  world.  The  pastor  should  value  the 
weekly  prayer-meeting  very  highly  for  these  three  pur- 
poses, should  advocate  it  from  the  pulj)!!,  should  per- 
sonally invite  to  it,  and  should  encourage  others  to 
invite  also.  Then  the  meetings  should  be  so  conducted 
that  those  attending  should  value  them  and  cpmmend 
them  to  others  for  their  devotional  earnestness,  social 
warmth,  and  practical  bearing. 

The  pastor  should  make  thorough  preparation 
for  each  meeting — the  Scripture  and  hymns  selected,  and 
his  speech  prepared — so  he  can  give  himself  entirely  to 
leading  the  meeting.  As  a  leader  he  should  be  resource- 
ful, tactful,  good-natured,  and  enthusiastic.  Topics 
should  be  selected  carefully  and  for  the  particular  church. 
The  lists  for  the  year  published  by  various  bodies  may 
afford  suggestions,  but  should  not  be  adopted.  It  is  not 
wise  to  publish  a  list  of  topics,  but  the  topic  for  the  next 
meeting  should  always  be  announced.  A  good  toi^ic  is 
a  long  step  toward  a  good  meeting.  Each  meeting  should 
begin  on  time.  The  pastor  should  always  lead,  but  he 
should  remember  the  meeting  belongs  to  the  people. 
The  introductory  service  should  be  short  and  varied, 
opening  with  prayer  or  reading  of  Scriptures  or  hymns, 


POIMEKICS  129 

or  the  statement  of  the  topic  and  j)urpose  of  the  meeting. 
The  remarks  of  the  pastor  on  the  topic  shonld  not  ex- 
haust it,  but  rather  suggest  and  open  lines  of  thought 
concerning  it,  and  should  inspire  others  to  think  and 
pray  uj)on  it.  It  should  not  be  a  lecture,  but  a  ten  min- 
utes' address. 

The  body  of  the  meeting  should  be  in  the  hands  of  the 
people.  They  should  be  encouraged  to  take  part  volun- 
tarily, but  the  pastor  should  have  a  number  upon  whom 
he  may  call  at  any  time  to  speak  or  pray.  He  should 
not  call  upon  any  one  for  the  first  time  without  first  se- 
curing his  consent  and  suggesting  some  theme  for  the 
first  time.  The  Young  Peoiile's  Society  of  Christian 
Endeavor  and  the  Brotherhood  of  Andrew  and  Philii) 
should  also  be  used  for  recruiting  not  only  the  attend- 
ance, but  the  taking  part  in  the  church  prayer-meeting. 
By  the  leader's  avsking  a  question,  or  suggesting  some 
thought,  or  calling  a  hymn,  pauses  may  be  broken.  A 
pause  is  not  a  bad  thing  in  a  meeting  if  it  is  short,  but 
it  must  not  be  allowed  to  prolong  itself  until  it  becomes 
a  panic  of  silence.  A  question-box  may  be  iDrovided  at 
the  door  or  in  the  meeting,  and  the  pastor  may  answer, 
or  call  upon  some  one  or  more  to  answer,  or  may  give 
to  some  to  answer  at  the  next  meeting. 

The  closing  of  the  meeting  is  as  important  as  the  be- 
ginning. It  should  close  on  time,  so  business  men  may 
know  on  what  to  rely.  The  pastor  should  sum  up  the 
spirit  of  the  meeting  in  a  short  and  pointed  address,  so 
the  meeting  shall  have  an  inspiriting  effect  on  the  life. 

It  is  a  good  plan  to  encourage  the  members  to  linger 
after  the  meeting  for  a  half-hour's  social  pleasure.  Peo- 
ple should  meet  at  a  prayer- meeting  on  terms  of  equality 


130    MODEEN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

in  Christ.  Brotherly  love  flourishes  only  when  people 
become  acquainted  with  each  other  and  have  much  in 
common. 

By  having  many  short  prayers  and  speeches  the  peojjle 
help  each  other  in  sharing  their  experiences;  they  grow 
in  grace  and  in  personal  influence  upon  each  other  and 
upon  their  friends  outside  the  membership;  they  encour- 
age and  stimulate  each  other  in  various  lines  of  church 
work ;  they  recognize  that  the  Spirit  of  God  is  the  power 
binding  them  together  in  the  brotherhood  and  sending 
them  forth  to  minister  in  the  world;  and,  relying  upon 
the  Holy  Spirit  by  united  supplication,  they  may  expect 
to  be  filled  with  His  power.  Such  a  prayer-meeting 
will  not  be  attended  only  by  a  few  from  a  sense  of  duty, 
but  by  a  great  many  for  the  good  they  give  and  receive. 


CHAPTER  lY 
ARCHAGICS 

Archagics,  or  the  science  of  leadership,  is  that 
clepartmeut  of  the  pastor's  work  which  consists  of 
organizing  and  leading  the  church  as  a  ministering  and 
aggressive  force  to  conquer  the  world  for  Christ.  Our 
Lord  is  the  great  Captain  (Acts  iii :  15,  v  :  31;  Heb.  ii:  10, 
xii  :2).  We  are  His  under- captains.  The  figure  of  a 
flock  now  changes  into  that  of  an  army — an  army  not 
for  destruction  and  death,  but  for  ministering  and  sal- 
vation, the  army  of  life.  The  church  is  still  the  field  in 
which  the  pastor  is  to  work,  comforting  and  upbuilding 
the  people;  but  it  is  now  also  the  force  with  which  he  is 
to  work  in  the  community.  He  should  cultivate  his 
organizing  power  and  his  qualities  of  leadership;  he  may 
not  be  a  born  leader  of  men,  but  he  has  some  power  iu 
that  direction,  and  should  have  high  ideals  and  should 
constantly  labor  to  attain  them.  The  Church  and  the 
world  demand  to-day  executive  ability  as  well  as  preach- 
ing ability. 

The  mission  of  each  church  in  each  community  is  to  do 
what  Christ  did  while  He  was  upon  the  earth.  He  came 
to  save  souls;  that  mission  of  the  church  must  be  the 
first  all  the  while,  to  save  souls.  He  taught  and  healed 
in  order  to  save  souls.  He  ministered  to  all  the  needs  of 
man  that  he  might  minister  to  the  supreme  need.  The 
Church  is  His  life  continued;  it  is  to  minister  to  all  the 
needs  of  the  community  that  it  may  minister  to  the 

131 


132    MODEBN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

supreme  need.  Christ,  out  of  His  infinite  love,  gave  His 
life  a  ransom — the  atonement  for  sin  was  made  once  for 
all  and  by  Him  alone;  but  His  Church  as  filled  with  His 
love  is  to  give  itself  fully  for  the  good  of  souls;  its  mis- 
sion, like  His,  is  that  of  self-sacrificing  love.  Member- 
ship in  the  Church  is  not  for  the  luxury  of  rest,  but  for 
the  enthusiasm  of  service.  Each  church  has  great  power ; 
the  pastor  is  to  discover  it,  call  it  out,  and  lead  it  to 
accomplish  worthy  aims. 

The  pastor  should  have  and  should  awaken  two  kinds 
of  enthusiasm  in  his  church. 

1.  The  enthusiasm  for  church  fellowship. 

To  have  rich  and  poor,  cultured  and  uncultured,  ac- 
quainted with  and  interested  in  each  other  on  the  perfect 
equality  of  their  relation  to  Christ.  The  Christ  estimate 
of  the  soul  and  the  Christlikeness  in  the  soul  should  be 
the  theme  of  much  preaching  and  much  living.  This 
church  fellowship  does  not  break  down  or  do  away  with 
social  affinities  and  grades,  except  in  the  church.  But 
the  church  is  one  family,  swayed  by  the  religious  feel- 
ing, having  love  for  Christ  and  for  one  another,  and  for 
the  souls  He  came  to  save;  and  the  fellowship  may  be  all 
the  stronger  when  there  is  much  variety  of  social  grades. 
A  church  of  the  rich  alone,  or  of  the  cultured  alone, 
would  not  afford  such  an  opportunity  for  Christian  fel- 
lowship as  one  made  up  of  all  classes;  nor  could  it  be 
such  a  bond  of  society,  nor  such  a  power  in  the  com- 
munity. A  heavenly  family  on  earth,  in  which  brotherly 
love  triumphs  over  social  peculiarities,  will  be  very 
attractive  in  itself  to  any  community. 

2.  The  enthusiasm  of  ministering. 

To  have  the  spirit  of  making  it  plain  to  the  whole 


AECHAGICS  133 

community  that  the  church  is  for  all  the  people  without 
class  distinction,  and  that  it  is  eager  to  serve  the  com- 
munity in  all  possible  ways — that  it  is  Christ's  continued 
life  to  help  and  save  men. 
Two  extremes  of  organization  are  to  he  avoided. 

1.  Having  more  organization  than  force  to  run  it. 

2.  Having  more  force  than  organization  to  work  with. 
The  force,  Christian  life,  must  be  healthfully  developed 

by  the  organization ;  it  must  not  be  strained  by  too  much 
machinery,  nor  must  it  lie  idle  because  there  is  too  lit- 
tle; the  one  is  as  bad  as  the  other,  tho  the  latter  is  much 
more  likely  to  happen.  There  should  be  a  constant  in- 
flow of  converts,  and  at  once  some  distinctive  church 
work  should  be  given  them  to  do;  they  are  to  be  trained 
to  be  enthusiastic,  active  Christians.  The  practise  of 
Christian  virtues  in  home  and  business  should  be  supple- 
mented by  church  activity;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  for- 
wardness and  rashness  are  to  be  restrained,  and  young- 
converts  are  not  to  be  discouraged  by  having  too  much 
work  given  to  them. 

Three  principles  should  rule  in  all  the  organiza- 
tions of  a  church. 

1.  The  special  organization  should  not  be  for  itself, 
but  for  some  worthy  end;  not  for  the  sake  of  working,  a 
mere  treadmill,  but  for  the  sake  of  doing  something  that 
needs  to  be  done. 

Work  that  costs  personal  effort,  the  expenditure  of 
time,  thought,  labor,  and  money,  is  attractive  to  manli- 
ness of  all  ages,  especially  to  young  manliness,  and  pro- 
motive of  it;  but  it  must  offer  reasonable  prospects  of 
good  results.  Much  of  Christlikeness  consists  in  devis- 
ing difficult  and  costly  work  for  the  good  of  others. 


134    MODEEN  PRACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

2.  All  the  organizations  should  tend  to  the  church 
services,  never  away  from  them.  They  should  not  be 
rivals  of  these  in  any  sense,  but  agencies  to  draw  to 
them.  The  Sabbath  worship  and  preaching  and  the 
mid-week  prayer-meeting  should  be  such  that  the  active 
Christians  can  not  afford  to  stay  away  from  them,  and  all 
the  activities  of  the  church  should  not  only  flow  from 
them  but  lead  to  them. 

3.  The  organizations  should  adapt  themselves  to  the 
community,  they  should  never  expect  the  reverse.  The 
Church  does  not  exist  for  itself,  but  to  save  the  world;  it 
is  like  its  Lord  in  every  community  j  it  came  not  to  be 
ministered  to,  but  to  minister.  In  organizations  for 
young  men  and  women  it  must  be  clearly  seen  that  the 
young  are  to  be  benefited,  that  their  interests  are  wisely 
sought  and  earnestly  labored  for.  In  seeking  individu- 
als and  families  it  must  be  first  in  our  motive  and  plan 
(and  it  must  be  plainly  shown)  that  their  interests  are 
sought.  In  advancing  any  cause  in  the  community  it 
must  be  made  evident  that  it  is  for  the  sake  of  the  com- 
munity. All  organizations  and  all  work  of  the  church 
must  be  not  primarily  to  save  the  church,  but  to  save 
the  community.  The  church  that  discriminates  and  seeks 
mainly  for  its  own  good  forgets  the  saying  of  our  Lord: 
^^ He  that  seeks  his  life  shall  lose  it."  The  law  of  serv- 
ice is  the  law  of  life  everywhere  in  the  universe  of  God. 

The  pastor,  in  taking  charge  of  a  church,  should  not 
be  in  a  hurry  to  introduce  new  methods.  The  estab- 
lished methods  and  customs  must  be  supposed  to  be  the 
best,  and  they  are  entrenched  in  the  affections  and 
habits  of  the  people.  The  pastor  should  get  used  to  his 
people  and  their  ways  rather  than  require  his  people 


AECHAGICS  135 

to  change  for  his  views.  After  they  have  given  him 
their  confidence  as  a  wise  leader,  and  he  sees  new 
methods  and  customs  are  needed,  changes  may  be  sug- 
gested. If  he  is  to  be  an  organizer  and  leader,  he  must 
first  of  all  become  acquainted  with  the  force  to  be  led, 
the  ability,  taste,  and  willingness  of  the  people;  he  must, 
in  the  second  place,  become  well  acquainted  with  the 
particular  needs  of  the  community,  and  how  best  to 
meet  them;  he  must  then  provide  the  needed  organiza- 
tions, and  thoughtfully  instruct  and  stimulate  his  people 
judiciously  and  enthusiastically  to  use  them. 

These  general  principles  apply  to  every  field.  What 
shall  be  the  particular  organization  can  only  be  deter- 
mined by  the  needs  of  each  field.  \ATiether  some  well- 
known  organization  is  adopted  or  an  entirely  new  one 
invented,  the  best  way  to  start  it  is  to  exj^lain  it  and  the 
need  it  is  designed  to  meet  fully  to  the  people,  and  to 
call  for  volunteers.  The  pastor  should  work  in  and  with 
the  organization,  but  his  influence  should  in  general  be 
advisory  only,  tho  all  church  organizations  should  be 
under  the  acknowledged  and  unquestioned  government 
of  the  church  itself. 

There  is  little  danger  of  any  organization  of  a  church 
being  a  disturbing  element  in  it  if  it  has  a  needed  work 
to  do,  and  if  Christian  fellowship  prevails,  and  if  the 
pastor  is  in  the  attitude  of  saying,  not  ^^go  friends,"  nor 
even  '^come  friends,''  but,  ^^now  friends,  let  us  do  so 
and  so."  A  working  church  is  apt  to  be  a  harmonious 
and  prosperous  church.  ^  ^  He  that  loses  his  life  for  My 
sake  shall  save  it ' '  applies  to  a  church  as  well  as  to  an 
individual.  The  Sunday-school  will  be  fully  considered 
under  the  department  of  Pedagogy. 


136        MODEEN   PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

The  Y.  P.  S.  C.  E.  is  established  in  many  churches 
and  may  well  be  established  in  all;  it  is  as  suited  for 
small  churches  as  for  large,  for  country,  town,  and  city 
churches  alike.  Its  pledge,  when  explained,  need  deter 
no  one,  as  it  simply  voices  the  unspoken  pledge  of 
every  Christian.  The  pastor,  however  old,  should 
always  be  one  of  the  young  people.  He  should  attend 
their  prayer-meetings  as  regularly  as  any  member,  not 
to  lead  except  on  rare  occasions,  but  to  take  part  with 
brief  counsel  or  prayer.  There  should  be  a  spirit  of 
faithfulness  to  the  pledge  fostered;  so  the  society  should 
foster  attendance  on  Sunday  services,  its  time  of  meeting 
should  be  selected  with  this  aim,  and  it  should  lead  to 
attendance  and  participation  in  the  church  j^rayer- 
meeting. 

The  committees  into  which  the  society  may  be 
divided  afford  an  excellent  means  of  directing  the  enthu- 
siastic energies  of  the  young  people  to  needed  work  in 
the  community. 

The  Brotherhood  of  Andrew  and  Philip,  with 
its  rule  of  j^rayer  and  of  service,  is  also  an  excellent  or- 
ganization Avell  adapted  to  any  church.  The  pastor 
should  meet  with  them  in  their  regular  meetings  for 
Bible  study  and  prayer.  This  organization  affords  ah 
excellent  school  of  prayer,  and  should  constantly  supply 
new  \^oices  to  the  church  prayer-meeting,  as  well  as  en- 
larged attendance.  It  is  an  excellent  organization  also 
to  lead  men  to  begin  attending  church  services.  It  also 
affords  many  agencies  for  ministering  to  the  needs  of 
men,  and  for  awakening  the  spirit  of  brotherhood. 

The  Chautauqua  Literary  and  Scientific  Circle 
is  well  adapted  to  minister  to  the  intellectual  needs  of 


AECHAGICS  137 

many  communities  in  country  and  town,  and  in  some 
cities. 

A  Young  Men's  Sunday  Evening  Club,  to  foster 
attendance  upon  the  evening  service,  may  be  given  a 
large  sliare  of  the  conduct  of  the  evening  service  in  sug- 
gesting subjects  for  the  sermons,  and  arranging  the 
music  and  programs  for  the  service. 

A  Good  Citizenship  Club,  organized  on  the  plan  of 
the  United  States  Senate,  gives  excellent  opportunity  for 
parliamentary  debates,  and  for  considering  the  civil  and 
political  needs  of  the  community,  whether  country,  town, 
or  city.  This  latter  society  appeals  to  the  men  of  the 
congregation  who  are  not  members  of  the  church,  and 
the  members  of  the  church  belonging  to  it  have  the 
oi)portuuity  of  cultivating  acquaintance  and  fellowship 
with  such.  A  church  dinner  for  men  once  or  twice  a 
year,  bringing  all  the  members  of  the  congregation 
together,  and  discussing  church  and  community  matters, 
may  be  given  by  the  Brotherhood  or  the  Good  Citizen- 
ship Club. 

Many  features  of  the  Institutional  Church  in  large 
cities  may  be  adopted  in  smaller  cities  and  towns. 
Many  towns  need  a  large  room  well  lighted  and  warmed, 
with  papers  and  games,  open  at  all  times,  and  especially 
in  the  evenings,  as  a  resort  for  men  who  would  other- 
wise drift  to  the  saloon,  while  sewing- circles  and  cook- 
ing-schools would  also  meet  a  great  need.  The  church 
having  Christ's  spirit  of  service  will  find  many  needs 
calling  it  into  exercise,  and  will  never  lose  sight  of  the 
greatest  need:  that  of  leading  lost  souls  to  the  Savior. 

The  Institutional  Church  has  its  worship  and  fellow- 
ship at  the  center  of  many  agencies  to  provide  for  those 


138   MODEEN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

witliin  its  reach,  generally  \Yorkiug  people,  all  that  can 
render  their  daily  life  happy  and  elevating.  Self-respect 
and  self-reliance  are  promoted  by  classes  for  training  in 
useful  work,  by  employment  bureaus,  by  loan  associa- 
tions, by  medical  care,  and  generally  by  brotherly  inter- 
est. Church  settlements  have  their  paid  and  volun- 
tary workers  dwelling  among  the  people  to  be  served, 
with  the  purpose  of  educating  and  strengthening  the 
home  life  of  the  people,  of  bettering  the  environment, 
and  showing  and  helping  all  to  higher  kinds  of  living. 
Many  of  these  methods  may  be  adopted,  and  certainly 
the  spirit  of  such  work  should  prevail  in  all  churches. 

The  care  of  the  poor  of  the  church  demands  not 
only  money  but  personal  care;  where  there  are  many,  a 
Pastor's  Aid  Committee  is  a  good  supplement  to  the 
work  of  the  deacons.  It  is  a  good  thing,  when  possible, 
to  have  a  judicious,  tactful  i^erson  act  as  friend  to  each 
poor  family,  not  only  to  convey  the  money  of  the  church 
where  needed,  but  mainly  to  give  counsel  and  encour- 
agement^— the  help  of  sympathy. 

The  church  should  provide  in  its  nature  a  brother- 
hood which  should  excel  all  secret  and  fraternal  associa- 
tions in  heartiness  and  helpfulness.  Instead  of  objecting 
to  Freemasons,  Odd-Fellows,  and  kindred  organizations, 
the  church  should  foster  a  more  genuine  and  hearty 
brothe^'hood  than  they  afford.  The  life  insurance  and 
sick  benefits,  as  a  matter  of  business  assessment,  should, 
however,  be  left  to  companies  designed  for  such  work, 
and  the  church  should  confine  itself  to  spontaneous 
ministry. 

Many  churches  should  have  Rescue  Missions  con- 
ducted by  their  Brotherhood  of  Andrew  and  Philip,  or 


ARCHAGICS  1^9 

some  special  organization,  but  not  by  the  church 
authorities.  To  be  successful  the  meetings  of  such  a 
mission  must  be  continuous,  every  night  in  the  week;  but 
on  Sunday  night  there  should  be  a  short  meeting  before 
church  service.  Then  the  workers,  and  those  they  can 
persuade  to  accompany  them,  should  attend  the  church 
service,  while  one  or  two  keep  the  mission-room  open  to 
welcome  those  who  may  come  in;  after  church  service 
the  mission  meeting  should  be  resumed.  It  is  the  mis- 
sion of  the  Church  to  rescue  the  fallen;  she  must  not  ex- 
pect them  to  come  to  her,  but  she  must  go  out  into 
the  highways  and  seek  them. 

A  church  should  freely  use  all  proper  advertising 
agencies  to  let  the  people  know  of  its  existence,  and 
of  its  desire  that  they  should  attend  its  usual  and  special 
services  and  enjoy  all  its  privileges.  There  should  not 
be  the  slightest  ground  in  any  church  for  the  faintest 
suspicion  of  any  persons  that  they  are  not  wanted  at  the 
services  or  in  the  fellowship  of  the  church.  There 
should  be  ushers,  a  welcome  committee,  a  visiting  com- 
mittee— all  that  is  needed  to  make  sure  that  no  one  is 
slighted  or  neglected;  and,  above  ?il,  there  should  be  a 
hearty  spirit  of  Christian  love  filling  these  organizations 
and  acting  independently  of  them.  Sinners  in  the 
presence  of  the  gracious  Savior  do  not  need  introduc- 
tions before  they  can  be  gracious  to  one  another.  The 
Church  stands  for  Christ  among  men;  whatever  would 
interest  and  draw  Him  should  appeal  to  the  Church. 

There  are  three  principles  that  should  prevail  in 
the  financial  affairs  of  the  church. 

1.  The  church  should  set  an  example  to  the  com- 
munity of  fair  and  honest  dealings.     It  should  not  incur 


140   MODEEN  PRACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

obligations  without  reasonable  prospect  of  promptly  and 
completely  fulfilling  tbem.  It  should  pay  as  it  goes 
promptly  and  fully,  not  incurring  debt  for  its  running 
expenses.  This  rule  also  applies  to  the  pastor  in  his 
personal  affairs. 

2.  In  raising  money  it  is  desirable  that  all  the  people 
should  take  part  for  their  own  self-respect  and  culture; 
and  that  a  constant  sui)ply  should  be  in  the  treasurer's 
hands  for  all  church  purposes  as  they  arise.  The  renting 
of  pews  gives  a  steady  supply,  and  is  probably  the  best 
method  for  that  purpose;  it  also  gives  each  family  a 
location  of  its  own  in  each  church;  but  it  classifies 
people  in  the  church  pews  according  to  their  riches,  and 
there  is  danger  of  excluding  some  of  the  poor.  The  sub- 
scription plan,  with  weekly,  monthly,  or  quarterly  pay- 
ments in  envelopes  collected  at  the  church  service,  and 
with  family  sittings  located  according  to  priority  of 
preference,  requires  more  care  to  keep  up  the  supply  of 
money  steadily  equal  to  the  demand.  It  can  be  kept  up 
year  after  year  only  when  there  is  much  church  loyalty 
and  enthusiasm  for  fellowship  and  work;  but  these 
should  always  exist. 

3.  The  principle  of  contributing  money  both  for 
church  support  and  for  the  work  of  the  church  in  the 
community  and  the  world  should  be  systematic  and 
propoVtionate  giving.  The  pastor  should  practise  this 
himself;  because  he  is  giving  his  time  and  talent  to  the 
work  of  the  Lord  does  not  exempt  him  from  giving  also 
of  his  income.  He  can  then  heartily  advocate  it  among 
his  people;  he  is  consciously  consistent.  The  law  of  the 
tenth  is  no  longer  in  force,  but  the  example  of  that  law 
and  practise  and  its  approval  of  God  can  never  be  set 


AECHAGICS  141 

aside,  and  Christians  should  not  fall  under  that  stand- 
ard, but  may  go  far  beyond  it.  Whatever  proportion  is 
set  aside  for  the  work  of  the  Lord  must  be  according  to 
the  conscience  of  each  individual  considering  himself  as 
the  steward  of  God. 

Sometimes  money  is  raised  by  church  fairs  and  sup- 
pers. When  this  is  done  there  should  be  reasonable 
charges  and  a  careful  avoidance  of  anything  approaching 
a  lottery.  There  is  sometimes  a  development  of  church 
fellowship  in  getting  up  and  conducting  such  fairs,  but 
the  tendency  is  to  diminish  the  proper  spirit  of  giving 
in  the  church,  and  to  place  the  church  before  the  com- 
munity as  a  business  institution  seeking  money  rather 
than  as  a  fellowship  in  Christ  seeking  to  serve. 

Each  church  should  eagerly  embrace  the  agencies 
at  its  hand  for  reaching  beyond  its  own  community  out 
into  the  world  to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  The  Denomina- 
tional Boards  should  be  faithfully  sustained.  The  pastor 
should  make  himself  familiar  with  their  workings,  and 
should  inform  his  people  fully  of  the  work  they  are 
doing,  and  of  the  iDrivilege  they  afford  to  each  member 
of  the  church  of  carrying  on  the  work  of  Christ  in  the 
world. 

The  Women's  Foreign  and  Domestic  Missionary  so- 
cieties have  auxiliaries  in  almost  every  church,  and  are 
doing  excellent  work,  and  should  be  heartily  sustained. 
But  the  main  work  of  information  and  incitement  should 
be  from  the  pulpitj  this  advocacy  and  the  general  prin- 
ciple of  systematic  and  proportionate  giving  should  pre- 
vail in  every  church;  however  iDOor  or  small  it  may  be, 
each  church  should  contribute  to  this  general  work, 
particularly  to  Foreign  Missions. 


142    MODEEN  PRACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

The  pastor  should  seek  also  to  fill  the  ranks  of  the 
ministry,  that  men  may  be  well  prepared  and  abundant 
for  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  in  our  own  and  in 
heathen  lands.  The  pastor  should  be  such  a  devoted 
man,  such  a  fine  preacher  and  pastor,  and  doing  such  a 
noble  work  that  parents  would  think  of  nothing  better 
for  their  sons  than  to  be  such  ministers,  and  the  bright 
young  men  in  the  church  who  want  to  live  for  some 
noble  i:)urpose  would  be  stirred  with  the  ambition  to  be 
such  men  and  do  such  work. 

The  pastor  should  foster  in  his  church  not  only  de- 
nominational loyalty  but  a  spirit  of  sympathy  and 
cooperation  with  the  undenominational  agencies  of  the 
Church  at  large.  The  Bible  and  Tract  societies  rely 
upon  the  churches  in  general  for  their  support;  we 
should  do  our  share.  The  Y.  M.  C.  A.  in  each  town  or 
city  is  a  bond  of  union  of  the  churches,  and  each  church 
should  give  workers  and  all  needed  financial  support  for 
the  excellent  work  in  which  it  is  engaged.  Wherever 
the  Salvation  Army  exists,  tho  some  of  its  principles 
and  methods  may  not  be  approved,  it  should  receive  the 
sympathy  and  support  of  the  church.  It  is  doing  the 
work  the  church  ought  to  do,  and  until  the  church  does 
it  fully  and  in  a  better  way  it  ought  to  sustain  the 
army  in  its  work. 

Th^  pastor  should  foster  the  spirit  of  Christian  fel- 
lowship with  sister  churches  in  the  community.  We 
may  not  agree  on  all  points  of  doctrine,  government,  and 
worshii:);  let  us  look  at  the  things  we  have  in  common 
in  Christ,  and  for  His  sake  develop  and  manifest  these 
in  the  community.  There  should  be  no  spirit  of  prosely- 
ting fi'om  such  churches;  there  is  work  enough  to  do  in 


AKCHAGICS  143 

the  world  and  souls  enough  who  are  without  Christ  to 
engage  the  full  energies  of  each  church.  If  your  minis- 
try is  attractive  and  your  church  warm-hearted  in  fellow- 
ship and  workj  and  some  come  from  chiu^ches  where  such 
conditions  do  not  prevail,  they  can  not  be  kept  out,  but 
they  should  not  be  sought.  The  much  better  result  of 
the  fervor  of  your  preaching  and  of  the  life  of  your 
church  would  be  to  have  it  spread  to  other  churches. 

The  graduate,  on  leaving  the  seminary,  should 
settle  in  the  largest  field  that  opens  to  him — not  largest 
in  point  of  salary  it  may  be,  but  largest  in  opportunity 
and  demand  for  work.  He  should  not  go  to  a  small,  easy 
field  with  the  plan  of  further  study  and  preparation, 
and  of  then  seeking  a  larger  place.  He  is  already  well 
trained,  a  college  and  a  seminary  graduate,  and  ready 
for  his  work;  let  him  not  seek  a  chai)el  of  ease,  but  a 
field  for  work,  remembering  that  nothing  develops  like 
responsibility  faithfully  met,  nothing  trains  for  larger 
work  like  hard  work  systematically  done.  Then  let  him 
be  content  in  that  field,  and  do  his  work  there  as  if  there 
were  no  other  field  in  the  world.  Let  him  work  for  his 
Master's  sake  and  for  His  approval.  Let  him  love  his 
work  and  his  field,  and  adapt  himself  and  devote  him- 
self so  thoroughly  to  it  that  that  church  will  always 
want  to  keep  him,  and  all  other  churches  learning  of 
him  will  want  to  get  him.  Such  a  minister  will  be  con- 
stantly alive  and  growing,  and  need  not  fear  ^^the  dead- 
line, ' '  which,  as  a  rule,  only  exists  for  men  already  dead. 

When  it  is  said  that  a  minister  fifty  years  of  age  finds 
it  hard  to  get  a  new  field,  while  a  lawyer  or  physician  of 
that  age  is  in  the  height  of  his  power,  it  should  be  re- 
membered that  the  lawyer  or  i)hysician  is  not  seeking  a 


144    MODERN  PRACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

new  field;  tlie  height  of  his  power  is  in  his  established 
practise,  where  he  is  well  known,  and  that  is  all  a  minis- 
ter should  expect  or  desire.  It  may  occur  with  the  most 
faithful  minister  that  for  the  sake  of  the  church  he  has 
served  he  should  seek  a  new  field.  When  this  is  the 
case  he  should  not  hesitate,  tho  he  has  to  take  a 
smaller  field.  The  church  does  not  exist  for  the  minister, 
but  the  minister  for  the  church.  As  a  rule,  however, 
the  minister  should  be  devoting  himself  so  entirely  to 
his  church  that  he  has  no  time  or  desire  for  looking  for 
another  charge.  Churches  should  seek  ministers,  not 
ministers  churches. 

The  Foreign  Mission  field  has  special  claims  upon 
candidates  for  the  ministry.  There  seem  to  be  at  least 
three  qualities  one  should  possess,  in  addition  to  the 
general  qualities  of  the  minister,  in  order  to  go  to  the 
foreign  field: 

1.  A  specially  stro7ig  physical  constitution.  He  should 
give  fair  promise  of  being  able  to  stand  trying  climates 
and  a  radical  change  in  diet  and  manner  of  living. 

2.  A  specially  gifted  mental  constitution  in  the  matter 
of  power  to  acquire  a  foreign  language,  so  as  to  be  able  to 
use  it  efliciently  in  proclaiming  the  Gospel  to  those  born 
to  it. 

S.  A  specially  gifted  social  and  spiritual  constitution.  He 
must  vbe  strong  enough  spiritually  to  live  his  life  alone, 
without  the  support  of  congenial  spiritual  companion- 
ship. He  must  also  have  such  a  social  instinct  that  the 
repelling  characteristics  of  the  inferior  race  with  which 
he  is  to  live  shall  not  hinder,  but  rather  appeal  to  it 
and  develop  it. 

When  one  having  these  qualities  has  the  call  of  his 


ARCHAGICS  145 

Savior  to  the  foreign  field  lie  has  a  special  honor  and  a 
glorious  opportunity.  We  in  this  Christian  land  carry 
on  a  work  already  established,  we  lay  a  course  of  stones 
in  the  already  lofty  temple  of  a  Christian  civilization; 
the  missionaries  of  the  Cross  in  heathen  lands  lay  the 
foundation-stones  of  a  new  civilization  to  the  glory  of 
God  and  the  welfare  of  succeeding  generations  of  man- 
kind,  and  hasten  the  coming  of  the  Kingdom  of  God 
over  the  whole  race.  We  who  can  not  go,  should  admire 
the  heroes  who  sacrifice  social  ties,  who  risk  their  lives, 
and  cast  themselves  into  the  hideous  darkness  of  heathen- 
ism to  carry  the  blessings  of  the  Gospel  to  the  whole 
earth.  Tho  we  can  not  go,  our  hearts  should  be  filled 
with  the  missionary  spirit;  our  hero  brothers  on  the 
other  side  of  the  earth  and  we  in  our  native  land  are 
alike  under  the  command  of  our  Lord.  If  we  have  the 
Spirit  of  Christ  the  whole  earth  is  our  field;  we  can  not 
limit  His  Spirit;  our  interest  and  work  must  be  world- 
wide. 

Wherever  one  settles,  and  however  vstudious  and 
active  in  his  work  he  may  be,  he  should  ever  remember 
that  character  is  back  of  his  work.  The  basal  quality 
of  character  is  truth,  that  speaks  and  acts  truth  because 
it  is  truth,  the  reality  of  manhood,  true  in  God's  sight. 
The  minister  strives  to  make  men  conscious  of  God's 
presence;  he  should  ever  be  conscious  of  God's  presence 
himself.  The  culture  of  the  devout  life  in  himself 
should  never  be  neglected.  He  must  have  his  hours  of 
prayer  and  meditation  of  God's  presence  as  well  as 
hours  of  study  and  work.  The  quiet  hour  of  the  soul 
must  be  carefully  kept  if  the  soul  is  to  be  quiet  in 
the  stress  of  life — quiet  with  consciousness  of  the  pres- 


146    MODEEN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

ence  and  streugth  of  the  Lord,  ^yhere  tJiis  longing  is 
fostered  the  experiences  of  the  earnest  sonls  who  have 
enjoyed  the  Savior's  deep  revealing  will  be  of  help  and 
stimulus.  Books  of  devotion,  as  Thomas  a  Kempis's 
^  ^  Imitation  of  Christ ' ' ;  biographies  of  earnest  men, 
as  Henry  Drummondj  sermons  to  the  soul,  as  Eobert- 
son's  '^The  Loneliness  of  Christ";  spiritual  poems,  as 
Longfellow's  ^^Christus,"  particularly  ^^The  Golden 
Legend "5  old  hymns,  ^^ Jesus,  Lover  of  My  Soul"; 
modern  hymns,  ^^  Peace,  Perfect  Peace  in  this  Dark 
World  of  Sin ' ' ;  prayers,  the  outgoings  of  devout  souls, 
the  prayers  of  the  ages,  the  Litanies  of  great  churches — 
above  all,  the  Bible  experiences  in  psalm  and  prayer 
and  life  of  the  saints  of  old — will  stir  the  soul  to  seek  its 
renewal  in  the  source  of  life,  to  abide  in  Christ. 

We  must  have  special  times  of  communing  with 
Christ  if  we  would  have  Christ  with  us  in  our  life  and 
work  at  all  times — just  as  one  must  be  often  on  his  knees 
if  he  would  have  the  spirit  of  praying  without  ceasing. 

The  pastor  has  an  important  part  in  the  government 
of  his  particular  church  and  of  the  denomination. 
This  in  our  case  is  clearly  defined  in  the  Constitution  of 
the  Reformed  Church  in  America.  The  provisions  of  the 
Constitution  are  in  the  main  so  clear  that  they  can  not  be 
misunderstood.  The  pastor's  duty  is  to  be  familiar  with 
the  Constitution,  that  he  may  keep  his  church  and  him- 
self within  its  clear  provisions.  The  study  of  it  now, 
article  by  article,  in  the  class  is  simi)ly  the  introduc- 
tion to  that  familiarity  which  should  be  carefully  main- 
tained through  life.  Many  of  the  troubles  arising  in 
church  government  come  not  so  much  from  difficulty  in 
construing  the  Constitution  as  from  culpable  ignorance 


ARCHAGICS  147 

of  its  plain  provisions.  We  shall  consider  the  nature  of 
a  constitution,  the  history  and  spirit  of  our  Constitution, 
and  some  principles  of  interpretation  and  application. 

Nature  of  a  constitution.  An  evangelical  church 
is  a  part  of  the  Holy  Catholic  Church.  The  invisible 
Church  includes  the  whole  number  of  those  in  all  lands 
and  in  heaven  who  are  united  to  Christ  by  a  living 
faith. 

The  visible  Church  includes  the  whole  number  of  those 
who  by  i)rofessing  this  union  with  Christ  are  members  of 
some  church  organization  on  earth.  The  test  of  a  true 
church  is  pure  doctrine,  pure  worship,  and  a  pure  dis- 
cipline or  life.  Each  denomination  applying  this  test  to 
others  should  be  charitable  in  judgment,  and  in  apply- 
ing it  to  itself  should  seek  purity  in  the  highest  degree. 
The  one  and  only  standard  of  this  purity  is  found  in  the 
Holy  Scripture.  A  Church  constitution  is  the  Creed,  the 
Ceremonies  of  Worship,  and  the  Rules  of  Government 
adopted  by  any  particular  organization  of  the  visible 
Church.  It  is  a  human  production  based  upon  the 
Scripture,  in  that  it  classifies  the  principles  of  the  Scrip- 
tures with  regard  to  truth,  worship,  and  life,  and  applies 
them  to  present  conditions.  Its  purpose  is  to  bind  into 
fellowship,  culture  the  Divine  life,  and  promote  the  effi- 
ciency of  the  organization.  Such  constitutions  arose  as 
a  matter  of  expediency  and  necessity  in  the  earliest  times 
in  individual  chui^ches,  then  in  these  individual  churches 
becoming  associated  mainly  along  local  and  then  along 
national  lines,  and  since  reformation  times  in  denomina- 
tional lines.  There  may  be  two  kinds  of  constitutions: 
the  unwritten,  which  is  a  growth  made  up  of  accumulat- 
ing precedents,   as  the  British  National   Constitution, 


148      modee:n^  peactical  theology 

and  the  written,  which  makes  provision  for  change  in 
amendments,  as  the  United  States  National  Constitu- 
tion. 

As  with  nations,  so  with  the  Church,  the  written  con- 
stitutions are  developed  from  the  unwritten  ones.  The 
individual  churches  combining  formed  precedents  for 
further  and  larger  combinations,  and  these  precedents 
were  at  last  arranged  in  a  written  constitution.  Our 
Church  has  a  written  constitution. 

History  and  spirit  of  our  Constitution.  In  1568 
twenty  churches  in  Holland  formed  a  synod  at  Wesel 
on  the  Ehine,  and  agreed  on  the  Eules  of  Order  which 
form  the  germ  of  our  present  Constitution.  All  of 
these  churches  were  organized  under  the  government 
of  elders,  according  to  the  Scriptural  principle  (Acts 
xiv:23,  XX :  17-28)  which  lies  at  the  basis  of  our  Con- 
stitution, and  were  represented  in  this  synod  by  elders. 
These  Eules  of  Order  were  revised  by  following  synods, 
and  finally  by  the  Synod  of  Dort,  1619.  The  churches 
established  in  this  country  were  under  the  care  of  the 
Classis  of  Amsterdam,  in  Holland,  until  1771,  when  they 
became  independent,  and  formed  a  classis  or  synod  of 
their  own,  but  they  observed  unchanged  the  rules  of  the 
Synod  of  Dort  until  1792.  The  Synod  of  1788  began  the 
work  of  translation  of  tliese  rules  into  English  and  their 
revision.  The  Synod  of  1791  called  all  the  ministers  and 
an  elder  from  every  church  to  give  their  counsel  in  form- 
ing the  Constitution,  and  the  Synod  of  1792  completed 
the  work.  This  Constitution  was  revised  by  synods, 
with  the  approval  of  classes,  in  1833,  and  again  in  1874, 
and  has  since  been  amended  in  several  particulars,  and 
is  our  present  Constitution, 


AKCHAGICS  149 

This  Constitution  embraces  the  Creeds  or  ConfessionSj 
the  Liturgy^  and  the  Eides  of  Government,  We  will  now 
confine  our  attention  to  the  Constitution  in  its  special 
sense — ^that  is,  the  Eules  of  Government. 

Before  the  Synod  of  Wesel  and  the  formation  of  a 
written  constitution  each  individual  Eeformed  church, 
by  the  unwritten  constitution  formed  of  precedents, 
cleared  of  the  errors  in  government  as  well  as  in  creed 
and  worship  of  the  Eomish  Church,  showed  itself  as  the 
outgrowth  of  the  Apostolic  Church  in  the  form  of  gov- 
ernment by  elders  (Acts  xiv:23,  xx:  17-28),  and  so 
deserved  the  name,  the  Eeformed  Church — that  is,  the 
New  Testament  Church  formed  again. 

Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  great  head  of  the  Church, 
is  the  source  of  all  authority.  When  He  taught  the  dig- 
nity and  worth  of  the  individual.  He  showed  that  in  the 
Church  the  authority  from  Him  was  not  in  any  king  nor 
aristocracy,  but  in  the  people. 

There  are  four  great  principles  which  we  have 
received  through  our  Holland  ancestry,  and  which  are 
the  emerging  of  the  teaching  of  Christ  and  the  life  of  the 
New  Testament  Church  from  the  errors  of  Eome: 

1.  The  source  of  authority  is  the  people  of  the  indi- 
vidual church. 

2.  The  people  rule  by  their  chosen  representatives,  or 
elders. 

3.  Individual  churches  by  these  representatives,  or 
elders,  combine  with  each  other  in  a  denomination. 

4.  The  bond  of  this  combination  is  a  written  constitu- 
tion. 

These  same  principles  prevail  in  our  national  govern- 
ment.    We  as  a  nation  and  a  Church  owe  our  civil  and 


150    MODEEN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

religious  liberty  to  Holland,  and  througli  Holland  to  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

Principles  of  interpretation  and  application.  The 
four  principles  applying  to  a  national  constitution  apply 
with  equal  force  to  a  church  constitution: 

1.  The  limits  of  the  Constitution  must  be  recognized. 
While  it  is  the  fundamental  law,  its  province  is  not  to 
make  laws  itself,  but  to  define  who  shall  make  them.  It 
constitutes  and  empowers  the  law-making,  administra- 
ting, and  judging  bodies  in  the  Church. 

2.  The  source  of  authority  is  the  individual  church 
governed  by  elders.  This  individual  church  has  bound 
itself  with  others  by  the  Constitution  to  the  extent  of  its 
provisions,  but,  beyond  the  powers  clearly  defined  and 
distributed  therein,  whatever  reserved  j)Owers  may  re- 
main belong  to  the  individual  churches.  All  other 
bodies  have  only  the  powers  specially  given  to  them. 

3.  Articles  defining  and  giving  j)owers  are  to  be 
strictly  construed;  but  when  a  power  has  been  clearly 
given,  the  administration  of  that  power  is  to  be  liberally 
construed — e.g.^  Art.  IX.,  §  4,  ^  4,  authorizes  the  Boards 
of  the  Church. 

4.  Articles  on  related  subjects  are  to  be  construed 
harmoniously. 

Th^  principle  applying  to  the  national  Constitution 
applies  also  to  the  Church  Constitution,  that  the  duty 
and  privilege  of  interpreting  it  rest  upon  every  member 
of  the  Church.  If  he  is  in  doubt  of  any  particular  article, 
there  is  nobody  empowered  by  the  Constitution  to  clear 
up  his  doubts,  nor  can  such  a  power  be  conceived  of  as 
being  provided  for  all  cases.  He  must  decide  for  him- 
self, and  act  upon  his  own  responsibility.     The  courts 


AECHAGICS  151 

of  tlie  Church,  as  of  the  nation,  can  pronounce  upon  such 
questions  only  when  properly  constituted  cases  are 
brought  before  them;  then  the  decision  of  the  highest 
court  is  the  final  interpretation  of  the  article  in  cxuestion. 

The  principle  of  loyalty  to  the  Constitution  applies 
to  the  Church  as  well  as  to  the  nation.  It  may  not  be 
the  best  conceivable  constitution — there  may  be  particu- 
lar articles  of  which  one  does  not  approve,  he  may  seek 
in  all  proper  ways  to  have  desirable  changes  made;  but 
until  such  changes  are  made  he  owes  obedience  to  the 
organic  law  of  his  Church. 

We  may  congratulate  ourselves,  both  as  citizens  and 
members  of  the  Eeformed  Church,  that  both  national  and 
Church  constitutions  are  so  worthy  of  our  hearty  loyalty. 

The  Constitution  treats  fully  of  four  subjects: 

1.  The  officers  of  the  Church.  Of  these  there  are  four 
classes:  Ministers  of  the  Word,  Teachers  of  Theology, 
Elders,  and  Deacons.     Articles  1-4  describe  these. 

2.  The  assemblies  of  the  Church.  These  also  are  four: 
The  Consistory,  the  Classis,  the  Particular  Synod,  and 
the  General  Synod.  Articles  5-9  constitute  these,  and 
define  their  legislative,  administrative,  and  judicial 
powers. 

3.  The  customs  and  usages  of  the  Church.  Article  10 
prescribes  the  administration  of  the  Sacraments,  the 
order  of  worship,  and  the  instruction  of  the  children. 

4-.  The  discipline  of  the  Church.  Articles  11-14  de- 
scribe the  judicial  processes  of  trial  and  appeal.  The 
Constitution  closes  with  an  article,  the  fifteenth,  provid- 
ing for  its  own  enforcement  and  amendment.  Besides 
the  general  study  in  the  class  of  each  article  of  the  Con- 
stitution in  its  order,  we  may  note  some  special  features 


152    MODEEN  PRACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

arising  from  the  combination  of  articles  on  related  sub- 
jects. 

I.  Concerning  Ministers  of  the  Word.  The  Con- 
stitution makes  provision  for  a  pious  and  educated 
ministry.  To  the  Classis  is  given  the  sole  power  to 
license  to  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  and  to  ordain  to 
the  ministry  of  the  Word.  But  the  Classis  is  not  per- 
mitted to  license  any  one  it  pleases  on  its  own  terms. 
The  examination  upon  prescribed  subjects  must  be 
passed,  and  only  two  classes  are  permitted  to  enter  this 
examination:  those  who  have  passed  the  required  course 
of  instruction  in  one  of  our  theological  seminaries,  and 
those  who  are  exempt  from  this  requirement,  in  whole 
or  in  part,  by  a  special  dispensation  of  the  General 
Synod,  made  upon  the  application  of  the  Classis,  upon 
sufficient  reasons.  The  general  requirement  is,  there- 
fore, that  one  must  have  a  professorial  certificate  from 
one  of  our  own  seminaries  in  order  to  be  admitted  to  an 
examination  for  license,  and  the  exception  can  only  be 
by  the  act  of  the  General  Synod  in  a  special  case  for 
special  reasons — a  difficult  and  cautious  but  not  impos- 
sible exception.  In  consistency  with  this  requirement, 
the  Constitution  i)rescribes  the  greatest  care  in  the  selec- 
tion of  Teachers  of  Theology.  To  the  General  Synod  is 
given  the  sole  power  to  elect  such  teachers  j  each  Classis 
in  the  church  has  the  right  to  nominate  one  for  that 
office,  the  Synod  may  add  three  nominations  of  its  own, 
and  must  then  proceed  to  an  election  with  the  utmost 
deliberation  and  care.  The  one  eligible  to  office  must 
be  an  ordained  minister  of  the  Word;  and  when  elected 
lie  must  devote  himself  exclusively  to  his  office,  he  can 
not  be  a  pastor  of  a  church  nor  a  member  of  any  church 


AECHAGICS  153 

assembly,  but  is  constantly  a  teacher  of  theology  under 
the  appointment  of  the  General  Synod,  and  answerable 
alone  to  that  supreme  assembly  of  the  Church.  And  the 
Seminaries  themselves  are  under  the  entire  control  of  the 
General  Synod. 

When  one  is  licensed  to  preach  by  a  Classis  the  license 
continues  until  revoked,  but  it  may  be  revoked  for 
cause  in  the  discretion  of  the  Classis.  The  license  is  only 
to  preach;  he  may  not  administer  the  Sacraments,  nor  act 
as  a  member  of  the  consistory;  he  is  not  an  ofi&cer  of  the 
church,  but  only  a  candidate  for  the  office  of  minister  of 
the  Word.  The  student,  after  entering  upon  his  studies 
in  the  theological  seminary,  must  not  transfer  his  church 
membership  to  a  church  belonging  to  another  classis. 
So  each  classis  of  the  Church  has  the  right  and  duty  of 
caring  for  and  at  last  licensing  its  own  members.  The 
one  licensed  is  thereby  commended  to  the  whole  Church. 
When  he  receives  a  call  to  be  the  pastor  of  any  particular 
church  he  is  to  be  examined  by  the  classis  to  which  that 
chui'ch  belongs,  on  the  prescribed  subjects,  and  is  then 
ordained  to  the  ministry.  A  licentiate  can  become  a 
minister  only  when  called  to  be  a  pastor  of  some  church, 
or  when  sent  to  the  foreign  mission  field  by  the  whole 
Church,  or  when  some  classis  directs  him  to  mission 
work  in  our  own  country,  and  then  only  upon  his  pass- 
ing an  examination  on  the  prescribed  subjects  and  being 
ordained  by  the  classis.  A  graduate  of  a  theological 
seminary  belonging  to  another  denomination  can  not  be 
admitted  to  an  examination  for  license  without  a  dispen- 
sation from  the  General  Synod,  but  a  licentiate  of  an- 
other denomination  in  fellowship  with  ours  may  be 
admitted  to  examination  for  ordination. 


154    MODEEN  PRACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

2.  Concerning  Elders  and  Deacons.  The  elders 
are  described  iu  Acts  xx:  17-28  and  the  deacons  in  Acts 
vi:l-6.  By  our  Constitution  both  elders  and  deacons 
are  in  active  office  for  only  two  years;  they  may  be  re- 
elected to  the  consistory,  but  if  not,  they  become  mem- 
bers of  the  Great  Consistory.  One  need  not  be  a  deacon 
before  he  is  made  an  elder. 

They  must  be  chosen  from  the  male  members  of  the 
church  in  full  communion.  In  forming  new  churches 
only  the  male  communicants  have  the  right  to  vote  in 
their  election.  In  established  churches,  where  they  are 
elected  by  a  popular  vote,  all  the  members  of  the  church 
over  eighteen  years  of  age,  male  and  female,  have  a 
right  to  vote.  When  a  classis  forms  a  new  church,  only 
the  male  communicants  received  by  letters  of  dismission 
from  other  churches  have  a  right  to  vote.  The  classis 
constituting  the  new  church  has  no  right  to  receive  mem- 
bers on  confession  of  their  faith;  that  right  is  specially 
given  to  the  elders  of  a  chuiTh,  and  is  nowhere  given  to 
the  classis. 

3.  Concerning  Consistories.  The  consistory,  in 
calling  a  pastor,  may  devise  its  own  way  of  finding  out 
the  preference  of  the  people.  If  a  congregational  meet- 
ing is  called,  the  consistory  should  plan  how  its  prefer- 
ence is  to  be  expressed;  it  may  prescribe  who  shall  have 
the  right  to  vote,  whether  all  members  of  the  church 
regardless  of  age  and  sex,  or  all  members  of  the  congrega- 
tion, or  only  heads  of  families,  or  only  pewholders  or 
subscribers  to  the  salary.  The  way  of  consulting  the 
people  is  discretionary  with  the  consistory.  The  consis- 
tory's call  to  the  pastorate  is  subject  to  the  approval  of 
the  classis.     The  whole  Church  in  the  Constitution  has 


AECHAGICS  155 

prescribed  the  nature  of  the  call,  and  the  individual 
church  has  no  right  to  change  or  set  aside  any  of  its  pro- 
visions or  relieve  the  pastor  from  any  of  its  obligations. 

The  clause  in  each  call  concerning  the  pulpit  exposi- 
tion of  the  Heidelberg  Catechism  is  further  enforced 
by  Art.  6,  §  13.  This  is  a  distinctive  feature  of  our 
Church  spirit  and  policy,  intended  to  secure  an  intelli- 
gent membership  of  strong  convictions  and  deep  expe- 
rience. The  Catechism  is  a  progressive  statement  of  the 
great  truths  of  our  religion  as  they  are  experienced  by 
the  believer,  and  the  faithful  preaching  required  will 
make  our  Church  excel  among  the  Churches  in  a  de- 
voted membership. 

A  stated  supply  is  in  no  sense  a  member  of  the  consis- 
tory, nor  has  the  consistory  any  power,  even  of  courtesy, 
to  make  him  a  member.  The  consistory  is  the  corporate 
body  holding  the  property  and  making  the  contracts  of 
the  church. 

It  is  possible  for  the  consistory,  at  its  regular  meetings, 
to  pay  so  much  attention  to  the  temporal  concerns  of  the 
church  that  the  spiritual  affairs  are  slighted.  To  avoid 
this  it  is  an  excellent  plan  to  have  a  regular  order  of 
business,  in  which  the  spiritual  affairs  have  the  first  con- 
sideration. 

The  Constitutional  question  (Art.  6,  §  5)  should  be 
asked  in  the  prescribed  words,  and  a  record  of  its  having 
been  asked  should  be  inscribed  in  the  minutes.  In  case 
an  unfavorable  answer  is  given,  the  steps  to  be  taken  are 
described  in  the  division  upon  Discipline. 

4.  Concerning  the  Classis.  Each  classis  is  com- 
posed of  the  ministers  and  an  elder  delegated  by  each 
consistory.     This  elder  need  not  be  a  member  of  the  con- 


156    MODEEN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

sistoiy,  but  may  be  a  member  of  the  Great  Consistory. 
The  Classis  is  the  only  body  having  the  power  of  forming 
new  churches.  When  the  church  is  within  its  borders, 
it  may  be  formed  by  a  classical  act  or  by  committee. 
When  the  church  is  in  distant  parts,  the  missionary  sent 
to  gather  such  churches  is  regarded  as  the  classical 
agent. 

The  Classis  may  dissolve  the  pastoral  relation  upon  the 
application  of  both  parties,  or  of  either,  the  other  party 
objecting,  upon  hearing  of  both  sides;  but  it  has  no  power 
to  take  the  initiative  or  to  dissolve  the  relation,  both 
parties  objecting.  Art.  7,  §  2,  is  to  be  construed  in 
harmony  with  Art.  2,  §  15. 

5.  Concerning  the  Particular  Synod.  The  four 
elders  designated  from  each  classis  need  not  be  members 
of  the  Classis  at  the  meeting  electing  them,  nor  of  the 
consistories  therein  represented,  but  must  be  members  of 
the  Great  Consistories  within  the  Classis. 

6.  Concerning  the  General  Synod.  The  delegates, 
both  ministers  and  elders,  are  from  the  Classis  and  nomi- 
nated by  the  Classis,  but  they  are  appointed  by  the  Par- 
ticular Synod,  which  for  sufficient  cause,  to  be  judged  of 
by  itself,  may  appoint  other  than  those  nominated,  and  in 
this  case  also  the  elders  may  be  members  of  either  the 
acting  or  the  Great  Consistory.  The  General  Synod  is  a 
continiious  body.  The  delegates  are  appointed  for  a 
year,  and  hold  office  until  their  successors  take  their 
places.  This  is  also  the  case  with  the  Particular  Synod. 
The  Classis  is  a  continuous  body,  not  only  in  the  min- 
istry, but  in  the  elders  delegated  by  the  consistories,  who 
are  generally  elected  for  a  half  year  only,  and  hold 
office  until  their  successors  take  their  places. 


ARCHAGICS  157 

Concerning  the  customs  and  usages,  the  directions  are 
easily  understood  and  should  be  faithfully  obeyed.  The 
importance  of  the  subjects  treated  is  considered  in  our 
studies  of  Liturgies  and  Pedagogy. 

7.  Concerning  discipline,  the  plain  directions  are  in 
the  line  of  three  great  principles: 

1.  The  object  of  discipline  must  give  the  sole  motive. 
Popular  prejudice  and  i^rivate  grudge  are  to  be  carefully 
excluded. 

2.  The  offense  for  which  one  may  be  disciplined  must 
be  clearly  defined  in  Scripture.  The  laws  of  the  Church 
must  be  in  full  harmony  with  the  Scriptures. 

3.  The  rights  of  the  accused  are  carefully  guarded. 
He  is  held  innocent  until  he  is  clearly  proved  guilty. 
Discipline  must  be  undertaken  only  when  it  is  a  clear 
duty,  and  then  it  must  not  be  neglected.  It  must  be 
carried  on  only  in  a  Christian  spirit;  fidelity  to  Christ  is 
always  in  harmony  with  the  best  interests  of  the  soul  of 
the  accused  and  with  genuine  love  for  that  soul.  Care 
should  be  taken  not  to  begin  a  trial  unless  there  is  a 
reasonable  prospect  of  the  church  being  successful  in 
proving  the  accused  guilty  of  the  offense. 

The  utmost  care  should  be  taken  to  fully  understand 
and  carefully  observe  each  step  of  the  process  and  trial 
so  plainly  prescribed,  so  that  every  right  of  the  accused 
is  carefully  guarded  from  the  beginning,  and  so  that  if 
an  appeal  is  taken  the  church  may  be  fully  sustained. 

The  court  from  whose  decision  an  appeal  is  taken  can 
never  be  made  a  party  to  the  case.  The  original  parties 
remain  the  only  i)arties  in  the  case  through  all  the 
appeals  until  the  final  supreme  court  is  reached,  from 
whose  decision  there  can  be  no  appeal. 


158      modee:n^  peactical  theology 

The  court  in  which  a  case  begins — e.g.^  the  consistory — 
virtually  acts  in  three  capacities:  as  a  grand  jury,  to  see 
whether  there  is  a  probability  of  proving  the  accused 
guilty;  as  the  prosecuting  party,  to  bring  the  accused  to 
justice  (to  this  end  one  of  its  members  must  represent  it) ; 
and  as  a  court,  to  pronounce  upon  the  case.  The  two 
former  capacities  should  lead  it  to  be  specially  careful 
to  guard  against  all  prejudice  in  the  latter  capacity. 
But  in  the  appeal  it  does  not  appear  as  the  court,  but  as 
the  prosecuting  party  in  the  case.  The  record  of  the 
evidence  should  be  in  the  words  of  the  witnesses  and 
subscribed  by  them. 

8.  Concerning  amendments.  The  General  Synod, 
in  considering  the  ^'  final  declarative  resolution,"  may  go 
back  of  the  returns  of  the  Classis  in  its  discretion  to  dis- 
cover the  mind  of  the  churches.  The  whole  history  and 
spirit  of  our  written  Constitution  show  that  the  source  of 
authority  is  in  the  individual  church,  and  in  the  amend- 
ment, as  in  the  formation  of  the  Constitution,  the  effort 
is  to  discover  the  mind  of  the  churches. 

While  our  Church  is  governed  by  elders,  it  differs 
from  some  other  denominations  so  governed  in /o?^r  jpar- 
ticulars  : 

1.  The  source  of  authority  and  the  reserved  powers 
are  not  in  the  Classis  or  Presbytery,  but  in  the  individ- 
ual church. 

2.  The  elders  are  in  active  of&ce  not  for  life,  but  only 
for  a  term  of  two  years. 

3.  Our  church  has  in  its  consistory  and  whole  polity 
the  deacons  as  a  i)art  of  the  church  organization,  as  in 
Acts  vi. 

4.  The  consistory  of  elders  and  deacons,  all  members 


AECHAGICS  159 

of  the  church,  form  the  corporate  body  holding  the 
property  and  making  contracts;  and  so  we  have  no  body 
of  trustees,  some  of  whom,  or  all,  may  not  be  members  of 
the  church.  So  we  do  not  call  ourselves  by  a  name  indi- 
cating government  as  Presbyterian,  but  in  government 
as  in  creed  and  worship  we  go  back  of  all  the  errors  of 
Eome,  and  come  as  near  as  possible  to  the  early  Church 
reformed,  and  call  ourselves  the  Eeformed  Church. 


CHAPTEE  V 

PEDAGOGY 

Pedagogy  is  the  science  of  education,  the  science  of 
which  teaching,  including  training  and  discipline,  is  the 
art.  Now,  science  is  the  systemized  sum  of  our  knowl- 
edge of  any  great  department  of  God's  work.  In  its 
growth  there  are: 

1.  The  search  for  facts — the  observation  and  investiga- 
tion include  forces  and  laws. 

2.  Judgment  of  these  facts — a  discrimination  of  values, 
a  comparison  and  classification  of  them. 

3.  Reasoning  upon  these  facts — an  attempt  to  discover  a 
theory  which  will  account  for  all  the  facts,  forces,  and 
laws.  It  is  obvious  that  the  study  of  the  science  of  edu- 
cation is  needed  to  attain  the  art  of  teaching. 

Education  is  the  drawing  out  or  development  of 
man's  powers  harmoniously  and  in  due  proportion  for 
his  complete  living  in  relation  to  himself,  to  society, 
and  to  God. 

Plato  says:  ^^It  is  the  perfection  of  man's  powers." 
Dante :  ^ '  It  fits  man  for  eternity. ' '  Milton :  ^ '  It  regains 
what  man  lost  in  the  Fall."  Herbert  Spencer:  ^^It 
prepai'es  man  for  complete  living."  Eosenkranz:  ^^It 
develops  the  reason  in  its  effort  to  become  like  the  Infin- 
ite One."  President  Hyde:  ^^  It  fits  one  to  earn  his  liv- 
ing by  the  exercise  of  trained  powers,  to  support  the 
institutions  of  society  by  intelligent  appreciation  of  their 
worth,  and  to  enjoy  the  products  of  art  and  civilization 

160 


PEDAGOGY  161 

through  the  imagination  and  taste. ' '  President  Butler 
says:  ^^  It  is  the  adaptation  of  a  person,  a  self-conscious 
being,  to  his  environment,  and  the  development  of 
capacity  in  a  person  to  modify  and  control  that  environ- 
ment. ' '  This  environment  is  in  two  divisions — physical 
and  spiritual  J  the  latter  is  that  accretion  in  knowledge 
and  its  results  in  habits  and  in  conduct  which  we  call 
civilization.  Civilization,  or  spiritual  environment, 'may 
be  divided  into  five  classes:  man's  science,  literature, 
art,  institutional  life,  and  religious  beliefs.  Education 
is  a  whole;  leave  out  any  of  the  above  classes  and  it  is 
defective. 

Education,  as  described  by  these  great  masters,  in- 
cludes the  development  and  training  of  all  man's  i)ower, 
both  physical  and  psychical,  the  acquisition  of  all  the 
knowledge  needed  for  growth,  guidance,  and  enjoyment, 
and  the  attainment  of  skill  in  the  application  of  this 
power  and  knowledge  to  the  purposes  of  life. 

The  main  departments  of  pedagogy  are  three: 

1.  Historical.  This  treats  of  the  methods  and  attain- 
ments in  education  of  the  different  laces  of  mankind. 
It  is  the  gathering  of  the  vast  experience  of  the  race. 
Parents  have  taught  and  trained  their  children  from 
the  beginning.  Nations  have  developed  in  different 
directions  —  the  Greeks  in  intellect  and  love  of  the 
beautiful,  the  Eomans  in  will  and  love  of  power,  the 
Hebrews  in  the  moral  sense  and  love  of  righteous- 
ness. The  Bible  abounds  in  principles  and  methods  of 
education. 

2.  Descriptive.  This  treats  of  the  methods,  principles, 
and  ideals  of  education  prevailing  among  all  races  in  the 
world  to-day.     Primitive  methods  may  be  observed  still 


162    MODEEN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

existing  in  many  nations,  while  the  most  advanced 
methods  are  found  in  Germany,  France,  England,  and 
America,  where  teachers  of  all  grades  are  required  not 
only  to  master  subjects,  but  to  be  skilled  in  developing 
the  powers  of  their  scholars. 

3.  Practical.  This  endeavors  to  make  the  largest  pos- 
sible use  of  princij)les  proved  valuable,  and  to  attain 
the  best  ideals  of  methods  and  results.  It  is  not  vision- 
ary, as  if  trying  to  make  angels,  but  reasonable,  based 
upon  the  knowledge  of  the  powers  natural  to  man,  and 
of  the  forces  within  reach  for  their  development. 

Pedagogy  should  be  taught  in  a  theological 
seminary  for  at  least  three  reasons: 

1.  The  minister's  self- education.  He  should  be  a 
growing  man,  constantly  developing  his  powers  in  his 
life-work. 

2.  His  work  is  largely  one  of  education,  of  instruc- 
tion, and  training  in  the  complete  living — the  Christ- 
life. 

3.  He  should  be  the  wise  leader  or  director  of  a  large 
educating  force,  consisting  of  the  parents  and  the 
teachers  in  day-schools  and  in  Sunday-schools. 

The  first  principle  of  pedagogy  is  the  study  of 
the  child,  or  the  being  to  be  educated,  whatever  the  age. 
The  matter  of  first  importance  is  not  the  subject  to  be 
taught,  but  the  being  to  be  educated j  the  subject  is  only 
a  means  to  the  end;  even  the  Gospel  of  Christ  is  a 
means  to  manhood.  This  fundamental  principle  applies 
to  all  grades  of  education — to  teachers  in  the  day-school 
and  in  the  Sunday-school,  and  to  preaching  the  Gospel 
in  Christian  or  in  heathen  lands. 

This  principle  may  be  readily  accepted  in  arithmetic. 


PEDAGOGY  163 

The  old  plan  was  to  consider  the  subject  first;  then  the 
method  was  often  dull  and  repellent,  a  mere  strain  on 
the  memory.  But  the  child  does  not  exist  for  arith- 
metic, but  arithmetic  for  the  child.  The  method  now  is 
to  awaken  an  interest  in  the  child  and  draw  out  the 
powers  to  understand,  in  order  to  calculate.  It  should 
be  accepted  just  as  readily  in  religious  truth.  The  Holy 
Spirit  converts,  but  what  does  He  convert  and  how  ?  The 
human  soul  by  means  of  the  truth.  How  to  reach  the 
soul,  then,  with  the  truth  should  be  the  aim  of  those  who 
would  work  with  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  avenues  to  the 
soul  are  to  be  discovered  if  we  would  be  the  Holy 
Spirit's  messengers  to  carry  along  those  avenues  His 
truth  and  power.  Psychology  may  be  called  a  map  or 
picture  of  the  teacher's  or  preacher's  avenues  to  the 
soul;  not  only  must  he  reach  the  soul  through  these 
avenues,  but  the  soul  expands  through  them. 

In  the  study  of  the  child  or  being  to  be  educated 
there  are  two  distinct  subjects,  each  of  vast  importance, 
to  be  thoroughly  considered. 

1.  The  general  elements.  These  belong  to  a  child  as 
a  child — elements  of  childhood,  of  human  nature. 

2.  The  special  characteristics.  These  are  the  peculi- 
arities of  each  child,  largely  due  to  heredity  and  en- 
vironment. These  latter,  of  course,  are  largely  modifi- 
cations of  the  former.  The  child  under  consideration  is 
still  a  child,  tho  a  very  peculiar  one.  The  consideration 
of  the  general  elements  is  a  wise  preparation  for  the 
further  consideration  of  the  special  characteristics,  and 
this  is  a  wise  hint  for  ministers  in  their  study  of  human 
nature. 

The  general  elements  are  the  powers  of  the  child 


164    MODEEN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

capable  of  being  educated.     The  human  being  has  three 
distinct  classes  of  powers: 

1.  The  power  to  feel.     The  sensibility. 

2.  The  power  to  know.     The  intellect. 

3.  The  power  to  choose.     The  will. 

The  power  to  feel  comes  first  into  exercise,  and  is 
fundamental  throughout  life.  It  has  two  great  depart- 
ments: Bodily  Feelings  and  Psychical  Feelings. 

Bodily  Feelings  have  three  divisions: 

1.  The  Senses.    The  general  are  the  organic  sense, 

vital  sense,  and  temperature.  The  special 
are  sight,  seeing,  hearing,  touch,  taste,  smell, 
and  muscular  resistance. 

2.  The  Appetites.    Of  hunger  and  thirst;  for  exer- 

cise, rest,  and  sleep;  and  that  of  the  sexes. 

3.  The    Instincts.      Of   play,    self-regard,    self- 

defense,  self-preservation. 
Pedagogy  pays  much  attention  to  the  bodily  feelings. 
It  seeks  to  develop  the  healthful  exercise  and  control  of 
the  appetites  and  instincts  and  the  general  senses.  The 
aim  with  regard  to  the  special  senses  is  to  cultivate  them 
into  full  and  harmonious  action.  It  recognizes  that  the 
powers  of  observation  give  the  material  not  only  for  all 
further  mental  action,  but  that  their  full  development 
increases  brain  power.  It  values,  therefore,  not  so  much 
the  tliings  seen  as  the  power  to  see  them.  It  trains  to 
see  clearly,  in  detail,  completely,  and  correctly.  The 
minister  should  pay  much  attention  to  this  in  his  self- 
education.  He  should  be  a  close  observer.  (1)  In  his 
address  to  his  people.  He  can  convey  his  thoughts  and 
feelings  c]  ly  so  far  as  they  see  and  hear  him,  for  the 
tone  of  voice  anl  action  of  body  are  not  little  matters, 


PEDAGOGY  165 

but  of  utmost  importance.  (2)  lu  his  influence  with 
parents.  These  are  the  teachers  of  young  children  at  the 
time  when  the  senses  are  to  receive  their  first  impulse 
and  direction. 

Psychic  Feelings  have  also  three  divisions: 

1.  The  Emotions.     These  are  of  three  kinds: 

The  Esthetical — the  feeling  of  the  beautiful. 
The  Ethical — the  feeling  of  the  right. 
The  Eeligious — the   feeling   of   a    Supreme 
Being. 

2.  The  Affections  (so  named  because  they  affect 

the  object).     These  are  benevolent  or  male- 
volent. 

3.  The  Desires  (so  named  because  they  crave  the 

object  in  order  to  affect  one's  self).     These 
have  as  their  opposites  the  Aversions. 
A  desire  strong  enough  to  incline  the  soul  to 
secure  or  repel  the   object  is  an  inclination 
or    repulsion.      Becoming  habitual,    it   is  a 
disposition.      Made  intense  by  the  presence 
of  the  object,  real  or  imaginary,  it  is  a  pas- 
sion. 
With  regard  to  the  Psychic  Feelings,  pedagogy 
aims  to  develop  the  early  and  normal  unfolding  of  the 
Esthetical,  Ethical,  and  Eeligious  emotions,  and  to  give 
the  affections  and  desires  a  benevolent  rather  than  a 
malevolent  direction.     That  system  of  education  is  sadly 
defective  which  leaves  out  of  its  conscious  purpose  the 
evolving  and  training  the  Psychical  Feelings,  or  any  one 
of  them.     Our  day-schools  should  endeavor  to  evolve 
the  love  of  the  beautiful  and  of  the  right;  if  they  are 
debarred  from  cultivating  the  love  of  God,  there  is  all 


166    MODEEN  PRACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

the  greater  need  that  the  Church  should  do  this  for  all 
the  children  she  can  reach. 

The  power  to  know  has  three  great  departments: 
(1)  The  Presentative,  (2)  the  Eepresentative,  and  (3) 
the  Thought  Department.  The  Presentative  provides 
the  material  for  the  other  departments  to  work  upon; 
they  are  entirely  dependent  upon  it.  The  Representative 
recalls  and  remolds  by  the  memory  and  the  imagination 
all  that  the  Presentative  has  gathered  for  it. 

Pedagogy  tries  to  strengthen  the  memory  by 
obedience  to  its  two  great  laws: 

1.  The  law  of  Association.  Obedience  to  this  law 
strengthens  the  memory  by  grouping  the  things  to  be 
remembered  by  their — 

(a)  Contiguity.     Kg.,  400  B.C.     Socrates-Malachi. 
(Z>)  Succession.     JE.g.,  the  Battles  of  the  Revolution. 
(c)  Correlation.     JE.g.,  the  Invention  of  Printing,  the 
Discovery  of  America,  and  the  Reformation. 

2.  The  law  of  Preference.  Things  are  more  easily 
recalled  if  (a)  they  are  attended  by  deep  feeling,  espe- 
cially in  harmony  with  taste;  or  (&)  they  are  gained  by 
intellectual  labor,  are  worked  for;  or  (c)  they  are  asso- 
ciated with  the  act  of  the  will,  commanding  attention. 
The  acquisition  by  child  or  man  is  of  value  only  as  one 
is  able  to  use  it  when  wanted.  After-wit  is  only  an 
annoyance. 

Pedagogy  also  cultivates  the  imagination  by 
calling  into  exercise  its  three  great  powers: 

1.  Its  modifying  power  (taking  one  thing  for  another). 
Mg.j  a  stick  for  a  horse. 

2.  Its  constructing  power  (enlarging  or  diminishing 
things).     U.g.j  blocks  builded  into  a  house. 


PEDAGOGY  167 

3.  Its  creating  power  (making  new  combinations). 
E.g.^  creating  the  great  hunter  Orion  into  a  constella- 
tion. The  young  child  at  play,  the  student  in  college, 
the  minister  on  his  walks  and  in  his  study  may  cultivate 
the  imagination  by  the  exercise  of  these  powers.  The 
only  materials  for  imagination  are  from  the  presentative 
powers. 

The  Thought  Department  of  the  power  to  know 
has  these  three  divisions: 

1.  Conception,  to  form  words  (names  of  conceptions 
arise  from  comparing  and  classifying  the  things  per- 
ceived ) .     U.g.,  Si  tree. 

2.  Judgment,  to  form  sentences  (statement  of  facts). 
E.g.,  the  tree  grows. 

3.  Eeason,  to  form  conclusions  (to  attempt  to  reach 
general  truths,  even  the  universal  truth).  E.g.,  the  tree 
grows  because  it  is  alive. 

Pedagogy  so  directs  instruction  and  training  from 
the  earliest  stage  throughout  the  whole  life  that  the 
least  interference  and  the  most  help  shall  be  given  to  the 
normal  development  and  harmonious  unfolding  of  the 
various  departments  of  the  power  to  know.  Knowledge 
of  child  nature  is  to  the  teacher  what  knowledge  of  plant 
nature  is  to  the  gardener,  who  adapts  soil,  sunshine, 
wat^r,  and  all  his  care  to  the  plant,  not  hindering  but 
helping  its  healthy  growth.  The  mind  grows.  It  must 
have  time  to  grow — to  force  it  does  not  produce  a  strong 
growth.  But  the  growth  should  not  be  hindered,  nor 
dwarfed,  nor  perverted;  rather  it  should  be  wisely  culti- 
vated and  directed,  that  it  may  result  in  a  strong,  fully 
rounded,  well-proportioned  mind. 

The  aim  of  pedagogy  is  not  so  much  the  amount  of 


168    MODEEN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

things  known  as  the  cultivation  of  the  i>ower  to  know  as 
a  whole.  The  development  of  one  power  at  the  cost  of 
another  is  discouraged,  the  neglect  of  any  i30wer  is  con- 
demned. E.g.  J  the  committing  to  memory  words  as  mere 
sounds  is  discouraged  ;  the  thought  power  must  know, 
the  imagination  must  see,  the  meaning  of  the  word,  and 
then  the  memory  acts. 

The  power  to  will  has  three  great  departments.  The 
action  of  the  will  is  limited  to  those  matters  placed  be- 
fore it  by  the  other  powers.  It  may  then  simply  choose 
among  the  matters  so  presented  and  stop  there,  or  it  may 
purpose  to  act  and  stop  there,  or  it  may  go  on  and  exer- 
cise its  full  power,  and  command  and  enforce  action. 

Its  three  departments  are  thus  to  choose,  to  resolve,  and 
to  command. 

Pedagogy  seeks  not  to  crush  the  will,  but  to  de- 
velop it  to  full  action,  to  exercise  it  to  choose  wisely, 
resolve  promptly,  and  command  firmly.  It  aims  so  to 
conduct  instruction  and  training  that  indirectly  through 
the  culture  of  all  the  powers,  and  directly  by  constant 
exercise,  the  will  shall  choose  the  true  and  good  not 
weakly  but  strongly,  resulting  in  resolution  and  com- 
mand. The  minister  whose  supreme  aim  is  to  reach  the 
will  by  pulpit  and  personal  appeal  must  follow  the  steps 
of  pedagogy  just  as  fully  as  the  mother  with  her  child 
or  thfe  teacher  in  the  school.  These  steps  are  at  least 
three: 

1.  The  matters  presented  to  the  will  for  choice  should 
be  clearly  and  fully  described.  This  is  done  by  the 
power  to  know,  mainly  using  material  directly  given  by 
the  power  to  feel.  The  will  is  now  compelled  to  choose 
among  the  things  fairly  seen. 


PEDAGOGY  169 

2.  The  feelings  are  recognized  as  the  solicitors  of  the 
will;  their  work  is  persuasion  to  a  particular  choice,  but 
they  can  not  coerce  the  will  to  that  choice.  The  will  has 
no  power  directly  to  awaken  or  check  feelings;  we  can 
not  feel  happy  by  willing  to  feel  so.  But  since  the  feel- 
ings are  largely  awakened  or  checked  by  knowledge,  the 
will  may  call  memory,  imagination,  and  thinking  into 
such  action  as  will  awaken  or  banish  certain  feelings. 
Since  the  feelings  only  solicit,  the  will  can  dwarf  certain 
feelings  by  refusing  to  yield  to  them,  and  cultivate  other 
feelings  by  yielding  to  them.  So  also  the  will  may  grow 
weak,  and  may  come  largely  under  the  power  of  any 
class  of  feelings  by  constantly  yielding  to  its  solicita- 
tions, while  that  class  of  feelings  as  constantly  grows  in 
power. 

The  will  may  thus  choose  for  its  solicitors  the  higher 
feelings,  the  esthetic,  ethic,  or  religious  feelings,  or  the 
lower  feelings — the  appetites  and  senses.  The  will  may 
so  constantly  choose  the  higher  feelings  that  these  become 
steadily  increasing  habits  of  feeling.  By  this  action  of 
the  will  the  desires  become  inclinations,  dispositions — 
even  passions.  Of  course  the  reverse  is  equally  true. 
The  action  of  the  will  is  not,  therefore,  limited  to  a 
single  choice,  but  has  a  large  influence  in  confirming  or 
changing  character  by  a  series  of  choices. 

3.  The  Conscience,  which  may  be  called  the  Judge  of 
the  Ethic  sense,  has  a  large  influence  on  the  will.  The 
power  to  judge  whether  a  thing  is  right  or  wrong  may 
be  claimed  as  belonging  to  the  power  to  know;  but  the 
conscience  has  two  special  powers  belonging  exclusively 
to  itself: 

(a)  Before  a  choice  is  made  it  gives  its  clear  decision 


170   MODEEN  PRACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

that  the  will  ought  to  choose  the  right  and  refuse  the 
wrong.  This  voice  of  conscience  may  be  kept  clear  and 
made  stronger  by  the  will  acting  in  harmony  with  it,  or 
it  may  be  made  blurred  and  weak  by  the  will  repeatedly 
acting  in  opposition  to  it. 

(b)  After  a  choice  is  made  the  conscience  gives  its 
clear  verdict,  not  only  condemning  the  choice  or  approv- 
ing it,  but  condemning  or  approving  the  will  for  making 
it.  It  does  not  take  into  consideration  the  strength  of 
the  desires  or  appeals;  it  confines  its  verdict  simply  to 
the  right  or  wrong  of  the  action  of  the  man. 

Pedagogy  follows  conscience  in  the  preference  of 
motives  to  be  presented  to  the  will,  insisting  they  should 
be  those  of  good  rather  than  those  of  profit,  moral  rather 
than  prudential.  Pedagogy  regards  the  presentation  of 
motives  as  an  important  part  of  education  in  family, 
school,  or  pulx)it,  in  that  they  foster  the  will  in  the 
choice  of  right  for  right's  sake.  The  principal  classes 
of  feelings  to  be  used  in  training  the  will  to  prompt  and 
strong  action  are: 

1.  The  desire  to  excel — e.g.,  ranks  or  grades  (a)  in 
man's  sight;  (&)  in  God's. 

2.  For  approbation — e.g.,  by  equals,  by  superiors,  by 
God. 

3.  For  j)Ower — e.g.,  full  life,  immortality. 

4.  For  knowledge — e.g.,  of  things,  of  persons,  of  God. 

5.  For  future  good — e.g.,  in  this  life,  in  the  future  life. 

6.  A  sense  of  honor — e.g.,  man's  standard,  God's 
standard. 

7.  A  sense  of  duty — e.g.,  obligation  to  man,  society, 
God. 

Each  desire  has  its  reverse,  a  repulsion  to  be  avoided. 


PEDAGOGY  171 

Obedience  to  autliority  arising  in  a  sense  of  duty  will 
develop  from  control  by  others,  by  which  one  is  made  to 
do  right;  to  self  control,  by  which  one  wants  to  do  right. 
This  is  the  highest  form  of  appeal  to,  and  exercise  of,  the 
will.  Thus  pedagogy  seeks  to  present  matters  for  choice 
clearly,  to  arouse  the  higher  class  of  feelings  as  solicit- 
ors of  the  will,  and  through  cultivating  the  will  into 
strong  and  full  exercise,  to  give  the  conscience  a  favor- 
able hearing. 

Pedagogy  values  very  highly  the  order  in  which 
the  general  elements  develop  from  earliest  childhood,  as 
its  aim  is  to  work  with  nature  in  fostering  normal 
growth.  The  order  seems  to  be  the  power  to  feel  first, 
the  power  to  will  next,  and  the  power  to  know  last. 
The  earliest  training  should  be  in  directions  that  do  not 
need  to  be  corrected  or  changed  in  advancing  life.  The 
power  to  know,  awakening  last,  depends  for  its  develop- 
ment upon  the  acuteness  and  energy  of  the  senses,  the 
intensity  of  the  emotions,  affections,  and  desires,  and 
the  force  and  constancy  of  the  will.  The  earliest  train- 
ing is,  therefore,  of  the  senses,  the  emotions,  and  the  will. 
In  the  development  of  the  power  to  know,  the  Presenta- 
tive  power  develops  alone  for  the  first  year  or  two,  and 
maintains  the  amount  then  reached  through  life.  The 
Eepresentative  powers  awaken  during  the  second  year — 
the  memory  first,  and  then  the  imagination,  which  out- 
grows the  memory  after  the  sixth  year.  The  Thought 
powers  awaken  last.  Conception  comes  first,  judgment 
next,  reason  last.  Judgment  and  reason  outgrow  con- 
ception after  the  sixth  year.  The  inductive  power  of 
reasoning  awakens  earlier  than  the  deductive.  At  six 
years  the  Preseutative  and  Eepresentative  powers  form 


172   MODEEN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

two- thirds  of  tlie  child's  nature;  at  twelve  years,  one- 
half  j  after  that  age  the  Thought  powers  increase^  but  the 
others  do  not  diminish.  Beecher's  saying,  ^^To  hold  a 
popular  audience  one  must  paint  pictures  or  tell  stories," 
is  psychologically  true.  The  closest  reasoning  is  made 
more  effective  by  apt  illustrations,  since  the  strongest 
Thought  power  is  built  upon  and  accompanied  by  the 
Presentative  and  Eepresentative  powers. 

The  point  of  contact  is  the  place  of  common 
knowledge  where  teacher  and  scholar  meet — this  is  the 
starting- point  for  instruction  and  training.  The  knowl- 
edge of  the  elements  of  child  nature  help  us  to  discover 
this  ^^ point  of  contact"  with  the  child  mind.  It  is  evi- 
dently on  the  side  of  the  Presentative  rather  than  the 
Thought  powers,  markedly  so  in  early  life  and  lai-gely 
so  in  advancing  life.  This  is  true  of  the  heathen  mind 
as  well,  since  it  is  often  an  undeveloped  mind.  Our 
Lord's  teaching  by  parables,  and  His  use  of  illustrations, 
is  based  upon  this  principle;  He  never  drew  His  illus- 
trations from  the  carpenter's  trade,  for  tho  He  was 
familiar  with  it,  the  people  were  not.  The  power  of  the 
child  to  learn  and  develop  along  the  lines  designed  by 
the  instruction  can  only  be  awakened  by  touching  some 
common  point  of  common  knowledge,  ^Hhe  point  of 
contact."  So  the  soul  of  any  one  is  insulated  from  sal- 
vationv  until  the  point  of  common  knowledge  is  found. 
Ko  one  ever  gets  hold  of  anything  by  pushing  it  away 
from  him.  To  say  at  the  outset  to  child  or  heathen, 
^'You  are  wrong,"  pushes  away;  it  is  superiority  that 
repels.  To  find  some  point  of  common  interest  or  belief 
takes  hold  of  the  hearer's  mind;  it  is  appreciation  that 
draws.     Whatever  truth  is  common  to  heathenism  and 


PEDAGOGY  173 

Christianity  is  the   '^ point  of  contact/'   and  the  wise 
missionary  begins  there. 

The  three  great  principles  or  maxims  of  pedagogy 
are: 

1.  Teaching  both  in  matter  and  method  must  adapt 
itself  to  the  mind  of  the  scholar.  The  chief  quality  the 
teacher  should  possess  and  cultivate  is  that  sympathy 
with  the  child  that  promptly  and  constantly  adapts  both 
matter  and  method  of  teaching  to  the  child  nature.  This 
instinctively  discovers  the  good  traits  and  powers  of  each 
child,  and  tries  to  help  it  to  its  own  normal  development. 

2.  Teaching  must  awaken  the  mental  activity.  The  power 
of  learning,  rather  than  the  thing  learned,  is  the  iniiDor- 
tant  thing.  The  aim  of  the  good  teacher  is  to  gain  the 
cooperation  of  the  scholar,  to  rouse  the  mind  into  activ- 
ity, not  one  power  only  or  mainly,  but  the  whole  mind — 
to  learn,  realize,  and  hold  the  truth.  True  teaching  is 
leading  to  think. 

3.  Teaching  must  foster  the  normal  unfolding  of  the 
mental  powers.  The  relation  of  the  subject  to  be  taught 
to  the  act  of  learning  is  that  of  orderly  progression. 
The  powers  of  the  mind  are  to  be  normally  evolved  by 
progression  in  teaching.  The  orderly  progression  of 
truth,  each  new  truth  being  the  truth  next  in  order  to 
that  already  known,  must  be  presented  in  a  way  that 
shall  promote  the  orderly  progression  of  the  scholar's 
mind.  The  orderly  progression  of  the  truth  is  needed 
for  the  understanding  of  the  truth,  but  it  is  needed  as 
well  to  promote  the  orderly  progression  of  the  mind. 
The  great  words  of  pedagogy  summing  up  these  prin- 
ciples are  Adaption,  Cooperation,  and  Progression — 
excellent  words  for  the  pulpit  as  well  as  the  school. 


174    MODEEN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

These  great  principles  of  pedagogy  are  found  in  the 
constitution  of  the  mind  and  never  change.  Many  teach- 
ers, tho  ignorant  of  them,  instinctively  obey  them  and 
are  good  teachers.  Teachers  may  know  them  and  act 
contrary  to  themj  they  are  sure  to  be  failures.  We 
should  clearly  know  and  faithfully  follow. 

The  methods  of  teaching  are  the  modes  of  applying 
these  principles,  and  are  liable  to  variation.  If  the  prin- 
ciples are  understood  and  obeyed,  a  wide  range  of 
methods  may  be  of  great  value.  The  aim  should  be 
^ ' sound  principles "  in  a  ^S^ariety  of  methods."  Skill 
often  lies  in  using  different  tools,  sometimes  in  being  the 
thorough  master  of  but  one. 

The  three  great  methods  of  teaching  are: 

1.  Questioning.     This  has  three  objects: 

First,  it  leads  the  scholar  to  define  his  knowledge,  and 
thus  fixes  in  the  mind  the  truth  already  known;  second, 
it  leads  him  to  see  the  limit  of  his  knowledge,  and  so 
gives  the  starting-point  for  further  instruction;  third,  it 
leads  him  to  be  discontented  with  his  ignorance,  and  so 
quickens  the  feeling  and  conscience  to  stimulate  to  efforts 
to  advance.  Questions  are  to  be  carefully  prepared  for 
these  three  ends. 

2,  Telling.  Questioning  has  its  limits ;  it  can  only 
draw  out  of  the  mind  what  is  already  there  or  may  be 
inferred.  N'ew  truths  must  be  communicated  by  the 
teacher,  or  the  teacher  must  direct  where  they  may  be 
found.  Lecturing,  use  of  text-books,  and  directing 
courses  of  reading  and  investigation  lie  in  this  method. 

S.  Shoiving.  This  is  accomplished  by  means  of  ob- 
jects, drawings,  experiments,  demonstrations  presented 
directly  or  by  a  vivid  description,  or  the  scholar  may  be 


PEDAGOGY  175 

directed  in  his  search  for  them.  Illustrative  teaching 
awakens  interest  and  explains;  its  object  is  twofold:  to 
make  the  scholar  see,  and  to  cultivate  his  power  of 
seeing. 

There  are  two  great  kinds  of  teaching;  these  often 
combine,  and  the  transitions  from  one  to  the  other  are 
frequent  and  not  clearly  marked. 

1.  The  Inductive — from  particulars  to  generals.  The 
basis  of  this  is  investigation,  close  observation,  and  then 
reasoning  upon  the  results  of  observation.  This  follows 
the  orderly  development  of  a  growing  mind,  and  should 
be  first  used. 

2.  The  Deductive — from  general  to  particulars.  This 
supposes  an  already  developed  mind  until  the  third 
power  of  the  Thought  power — i.e.,  the  Eeasoning  power 
— ^has  been  awakened,  and  its  use  has  to  be  delayed  until 
that  time.  Text-books  are  themselves  the  product  of 
induction — e.g.,  those  of  geology;  but  their  use  is  largely 
the  deductive  kind  of  teaching.  Even  when  the  teacher 
takes  his  scholars  into  the  field  of  investigation  he  must 
be  familiar  with  the  classifications,  and  must  direct  his 
scholars  what  to  look  for  and  how  to  find  things. 

The  two  kinds  are  to  be  combined  in  religious  teach- 
ing, as  we  vshall  soon  see. 

Pedagogy,  in  its  study  of  the  general  elements  of 
human  nature,  pays  special  attention  to  its  growth. 
There  are  three  periods  of  this  development: 

1.  Childhood,  in  which  the  power  to  feel  prevails. 

2.  Youth,  in  which  the  power  to  know  prevails. 

3.  Adolescence,  in  which  the  power  to  choose  prevails. 
Important  changes  are  those  from  childhood  to  youth, 

at  about  six  to  eight  years  of  age;  from  youth  to  ado- 


176        MODEEl^  PEACTICAL   THEOLOGY 

lescence,  at  about  fourteen  or  sixteen  years  of  age;  and 
into  maturity,  wliicli  is  reached  at  about  twenty-two  or 
twenty-four  years  of  age. 

A  great  law  of  psychic  action  is  that  every  act  of  the 
soul  leaves  an  increased  power  and  tendency  to  act  in 
like  manner.  Power  and  tendency  are  the  necessary 
resultants  of  all  psychic  action.  This  law  runs  through 
all  the  periods  and  changes  of  advancing  life.  The 
period  of  childhood  gives  its  cultui^ed  power  and  ten- 
dency to  feel  to  youth.  So  the  period  of  youth  gives  its 
developed  power  to  know  to  adolescence.  The  period  of 
adolescence  gives  its  cultured  power  to  will  to  manhood. 

A  pedagogic  principle  based  upon  this  law  governs 
the  selection  of  the  kind  of  teaching  for  these  periods  of 
life.  It  is  that  each  branch  of  instruction  and  training 
should  be  introduced  at  the  point  where  the  scholar's 
mind  begins  to  unfold  in  that  direction,  and  should  pre- 
vail through  the  period  when  the  scholar's  mind  has  a 
natural  instinct  for  it. 

The  kind  of  teaching  that  should  prevail  in  child- 
hood is:  First,  the  inductive,  that  which  trains  the  sense 
powers  to  the  character  desired  for  life.  (Begin  in 
childhood  to  train  children  to  be  close  observers.) 
Second,  that  which  awakens  the  psychic  feelings  and 
gives  them  the  character  desired  for  life.  (Begin  in 
childhood  to  secure  in  children  right  emotions  for  the 
beautiful,  the  good,  and  toward  God. ) 

The  religious  instruction  appropriate  to  childhood 
is:  First,  giving  the  incentive  and  example  of  true  liv- 
ing, the  parents  and  teachers  showing  the  virtues  of 
faith,  hope,  and  love  in  their  lives.  (Practise  precedes 
theory.     Life  is  given  its  direction  by  living.     To  see 


PEDAGOGY  177 

aucl  feel  life  stir  the  instinct  to  live  that  kind  of  life. ) 
Second,  telling  Bible  stories  that  show  the  lives  of  men 
and  women  trying  to  serve  God  and  man  in  varied  cir- 
cumstances, beginning  with  the  Old  Testament  and 
advancing  to  the  New  Testament's  higher  and  fuller 
living. 

The  kind  of  teaching  that  should  prevail  in  youth  is 
a  wise  combination  of  the  inductive  and  deductive  kinds. 
The  inductive  should  continue  and  be  slowly  combined 
with  the  deductive.  The  thirst  of  youth  to  know  should 
be  fostered,  and  the  investigating  and  reasoning  powers 
should  be  given  the  quality  desired  for  life. 

The  religious  instruction  appropriate  to  youth  is 
the  personal  life  of  the  Bible  continued,  with  a  gradual 
introduction  of  the  great  truths  of  the  Bible,  to  be  rea- 
soned about  for  their  acceptance.  The  theory  of  life 
naturally  follows  life  itself,  and  is  thus  properly  intro- 
duced to  the  power  to  know  as  explaining  and  confirm- 
ing practise.  The  stage  of  doubt  often  arising  in  youth 
should  be  met  in  a  rational  way.  It  is  the  unrest  of  the 
mind,  the  awakening  thirst  for  truth  j  it  should  not  be 
frowned  upon,  but  met  with  frank  sympathy  by  the 
Bible  theory  of  life — and  met  at  the  time  it  arises,  before 
it  becomes  confirmed  by  neglect  or  unreasoning  opposi- 
tion. We  do  not  scold  our  children  when  they  are 
hungry,  but  feed  them. 

Religious  instruction  should  compare  favorably  both 
in  principles  and  methods  with  secular  education,  the 
Sunday-school  with  the  day-school.  In  the  day-school  the 
deductive  text  book  and  the  inductive  experiment  and  in- 
vestigation are  combined.  So  in  the  higher  schools  botany 
and  geology  are  taught,  not  by  aimless  and  haphazard 


178    MODERN  PRACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

examination  of  the  fields,  but  by  a  text-book  leading  to 
as  thorough  an  examination  as  possible — and  this  is  in 
harmony  with  the  normal  unfolding  of  the  mind. 

The  truths  of  the  Bible,  like  the  truths  of  nature,  are 
of  great  variety,  and  are  scattered  in  perplexing  and  fas- 
cinating confusion.  Many  catechisms  set  forth  these 
truths  in  clear  descriptions  and  in  a  progressiA^e  system. 

The  catechisms  should  be  used  as  deductive  text- 
books and  the  Bible  as  the  inductive  field  of  investi- 
gation. The  simi^le  catechisms  should  be  introduced  at 
the  beginning  of  the  period  of  youth,  and  the  more 
complex  later,  but  both  should  be  taught  as  guides  to 
Bible  investigation. 

As  an  example  we  select  the  subject  of  sin  : 

^'The  First  Lessons  in  Christian  Truth  "  says  : 

"I  very  often  do  wrong  and  fail  to  do  right, 
God  calls  my  failure  and  wrong-doing  sin." 

The  Heidelberg  Catechism  says:  '^I  am  prone  by 
nature  to  hate  God  and  my  neighbor." 

The  Compendium  says:  '^1  am  prone  to  transgress 
the  commandments  of  God  in  thought,  word,  and  deed. ' ' 

The  AYestminster  Catechism  says:  ^^Sin  is  any  want  of 
conformity  to  or  transgression  of  the  Law  of  God. ' ' 

The  New  Evangelical  Catechism  says:  '^Sin  is  any 
thought  or  feeling,  word  or  act,  which  either  is  contrary 
to  God's  holy  law  or  falls  short  of  what  it  requires." 

Now  use  this  catechism  teaching  on  one  subject  as  a 
guide  to  investigating  the  Bible.  It  is  always  a  fascinat- 
ing thing  to  judge  the  lives  of  others.  What  kind  of 
lives  did  the  men  of  the  Bible — from  Adam  to  Paul — 


PEDAGOGY  179 

live  iu  this  single  regard,  judged  by  the  natural  con- 
science of  the  child  ?  How  does  the  life  of  Christ  com- 
pare with  these  lives  ? 

Progress  can  now  be  made  to  the  revealed  law — the 
standard  of  judgment.  When  was  it  given  ?  How  sum- 
marized ?  Does  it  awaken  a  response  in  our  conscience  ? 
Further  progress  follows  in  what  the  Bible  teaches  about 
sin:  What  is  the  Bible's  definition  ?  How  does  the  Bible 
regard  it?  Still  closer  comes  the  subject  to  the  con- 
science and  the  will.  Then  the  progress  to  the  next  step 
of  truth  of  the  catechisms:  How  to  get  rid  of  sin.  Last, 
the  setting  forth  of  the  Savior.  Time  could  and  should 
be  taken  on  each  important  step  in  the  progressive  state- 
ments of  truth,  to  make  a  thorough  study  of  the  Bible. 

Some  defects  in  religious  instruction  in  the  family 
and  in  the  Sunday-school  arise  either  from  the  want  of 
system  in  teaching  the  Bible,  or  from  the  lack  of  inves- 
tigation of  the  Bible  in  teaching  the  catechism. 

Teachers  are  rarely  gifted  enough  to  arrange  a  good 
system  of  truth  for  their  use;  they  therefore  teach  the 
Bible  aimlessly  and  at  haphazard,  or  in  connection  with 
their  own  ill-considered  and  disconnected  dogmas.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  catechism  is  taught  often  as  dry  dogma 
and  mainly  to  be  committed  to  memory,  without  trying 
to  show  how  its  truths  are  found  in  myriad  forms  in  the 
Bible  field.  The  combination  of  the  inductive  and  de- 
ductive methods  will  correct  such  serious  defects. 

Besides  the  interest  awakened  in  the  scholar  by  having 
the  wise  direction  of  the  catechism  in  his  search  for 
truth  in  the  Bible,  the  progressive  order  of  truths  in  the 
catechism  fosters  the  orderly  development  of  the  power 
to  know  along  the  lines  of  religious  instruction.     It  is 


180    MODEEN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

thus  in  harmony  with  the  laws  of  the  mind,  with  true 
pedagogic  princii)les  of  the  orderly  unfolding  of  all 
man's  powers;  it  stirs  the  emotions,  fixes  in  the  memory, 
accumulates  force  upon  the  conscience,  and  appeals  to 
the  will,  thus  tending  to  the  conversion  of  the  soul  in 
youth  or  early  adolescence. 

The  kind  of  teaching  that  should  prevail  in  adoles- 
cence is  the  continued  combination  of  the  inductive  and 
deductive  kinds  for  the  continued  development  of  the 
powers  to  feel  and  to  know,  but  now  specially  presenting 
ideals,  standards,  and  motives  developing  the  power  to 
will  in  right  choices  for  mature  life.  Adolescence  is  the 
period  of  quickened  intellect,  asking  earnest  questions; 
of  quickened  conscience,  seeking  ideal  righteousness;  of 
quickened  social  sense,  thirsting  for  companionship;  of 
quickened  choice,  longing  for  high  aims  and  purposes  in 
life.  Instruction  should  meet  and  satisfy  while  further 
stimulating  these  awakened  powers,  and  aim  to  develop 
the  will  to  a  strong  choice,  resolution,  and  command  for 
right  living. 

The  religious  instruction  appropriate  to  adolescence 
is  the  orderly,  progressive  teaching  of  the  period  of  youth 
continued,  with  a  direction  and  accumulation  of  force 
upon  the  conscience,  and  of  appeal  upon  the  will,  lead- 
ing to  a  life  decision  for  the  service  of  God. 

Thfe  purpose  of  religious  education  is  to  make 
good  Christians.  This  is  to  be  held  in  view  through  the 
whole  course,  but  is  to  culminate  at  the  period  shown  by 
the  God-given  laws  of  the  soul  as  the  best  period  for 
life-long  decisions.  In  the  religious  teacher  neither  zeal 
without  knowledge  nor  knowledge  without  zeal  will 
avail ;  both  should  exist  in  good  degree  to  enable  one  to 


PEDAGOGY  181 

lead  the  scholar  to  become  a  devoted  follower  of  Christ. 
We  should  aim  by  wise  methods  to  secure  the  conversion 
of  the  scholar  at  the  age  of  adolescence.  The  Eoman 
Catholic,  Episcopal,  and  Lutheran  churches  wisely  strive 
in  their  confirmation  classes  to  bring  the  adolescent  into 
Church  relationship.  Dr.  Starbuck  and  Dr.  Coe  have 
recently  conducted  careful  investigations  in  the  psychol- 
ogy of  religion,  and  conclude  that  the  average  age  of 
men  at  conversion  is  sixteen  and  of  women  is  fourteen, 
thus  indicating  the  age  when  the  Church  should  intelli- 
gently purpose  to  bring  her  educational  methods  to  the 
point  of  conversion. 

The  special  characteristics  or  peculiarities  of  the 
individual  child  are  either  the  encouragement  or  dis- 
couragement of  the  teacher,  and  call  for  all  possible  sym- 
pathy, patience,  and  skill,  that  both  the  bright  and  the 
dull,  the  willing  and  the  unwilling,  may  have  the  special 
treatment  each  needs.  The  two  forces  having  large 
influence  in  making  up  these  individual  peculiarities 
are : 

1.  Heredity y  the  force  of  ancestry,  immediate  and  more 
remote  (how  far  back  none  can  tell),  molds  not  only 
the  physical  and  mental  powers,  but  also  the  emotions, 
dispositions,  and  force  of  will.  The  general  elements 
just  considered  belong  to  all  children,  are  the  qualities 
belonging  to  mankind,  just  as  all  men  have  noses.  The 
individual  peculiarities  come  from  ancestry  by  heredity, 
as  does  the  shape  of  each  nose. 

2.  Environment  of  native  land  and  home  and  all  social 
conditions  molds  character  also. 

The  extent  of  the  influence  of  these  two  forces  is  diffi- 
cult to  estimate;  but  the  slightest  consideration  of  the 


182    MODEEN  PRACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

subject  is  calculated  to  awaken  iu  the  teacher  a  great  in- 
terest in  each  child  and  to  call  out  one' s  best  effort  to 
meet  each  case. 

Christian  pedagogy  has  three  purposes  toith  regard  to 
heredity  : 

1.  It  recognizes  its  full  force  and  adapts  its  teaching 
not  only  to  child  nature  in  general,  but  to  the  individual 
peculiarities  of  each  child. 

2.  It  has  confidence  in  the  truth  it  teaches,  and  in  the 
grace  of  God  acting  through  it  to  renew  not  only  human 
nature  in  general,  but  each  individual  soul,  however 
dense  or  perverse  it  may  be. 

3.  It  recognizes  heredity  as  a  power  to  be  used  for  the 
future,  and  that  training  a  child  is  training  future  gen- 
erations— how  far  ahead  none  can  tell.  It  gives  the 
force  of  heredity  a  new  direction  and  tone.  ' '  To  reform 
a  man  you  must  reform  his  grandfather,"  ^'To  train  a 
child  you  must  begin  a  hundred  years  before  it  is  born," 
are  very  discouraging  sayings  at  first  sight,  but  upon 
farther  reflection  they  become  very  stimulating.  Train- 
ing a  child  of  dense  parentage,  that  is  discouraging;  but 
we  should  persevere.  We  have  the  truth  and  grace  of 
God,  and  in  training  the  child  we  are  training  the  pos- 
sible father  of  many  generations — are  training  the  child 
to  be  born  a  hundred  years  hence.  In  this  way  Chris- 
tianity has  come  to  lis  from  the  teachers  who  taught  our 
heathen  ancestry.  Christian  pedagogy  is  not  the  victim 
of  heredity,  but  the  master  of  it. 

Christian  pedagogy  has  three  purposes  with  regard  to 
environment : 

1.  It  adapts  itself  to  its  great  power.  Recognizing 
that  the  educational  and  religious  life  of  a  nation  centers 


PEDAGOGY  183 

in  the  family,  it  strives  to  enlist  aud  qualify  the  parental 
and  all  home  influences  in  its  behalf. 

2.  It  believes  the  grace  of  God  is  not  baffled  by  en- 
vironment, but  is  able  to  rescue  from  the  most  unwhole- 
some.    Courageously  and  hopefully  it  acts  as  it  believes. 

3.  It  strives  with  great  interest  to  improve  environ- 
ment, to  change  a  bad  into  a  good  one,  or  to  make  an 
entirely  new  one.  It  thus  views  environment  as  a  great 
training  force,  and  endeavors  to  capture  it  from  evil  and 
use  it  for  good. 

Christian  pedagogy  views  the  conversion  of  children 
as  more  easy  of  accomplishment,  more  liable  to  be 
thorough  in  its  nature  and  more  important  in  its  results, 
than  the  conversion  of  adults. 

1.  It  is  more  easy  of  accomplishment.  Children  are 
easier  to  reach  and  influence  just  before  and  at  the  age 
of  adolescence  than  later  in  life.  God  indicates  in  the 
nature  of  the  child  that  the  age  of  life  choices  should  be 
used  for  Him.  The  culmination  of  instruction  in  re- 
ligious truth  is  to  look  for  conversion  at  this  age. 

2.  Conversion  at  this  age  is  more  likely  to  be  thorough 
and  permanent,  because  it  comes  in  the  normal  order  of 
the  development  of  man's  powers;  it  also  antedates,  and 
so  prevents,  the  formation  of  reverse  choices  and  habits 
of  thought  and  life;  also  it  forms  a  kindly  environment 
in  the  associations  of  life  then  forming — friendship,  busi- 
ness relations,  especially  marriage. 

3.  It  is  more  important  in  its  results  than  the  conver- 
sion of  adults.  The  conversion  of  the  middle-aged,  es- 
pecially of  hardened  sinners,  is  more  thrilling  and 
makes  more  excitement  in  a  community — the  rescuing 
of  a  man  seems  the  greatest  work  possible;  but  the  sav- 


184    MODERN  PRACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

ing  of  a  child,  while  quieter,  is  more  important.  Pre- 
vention is  not  only  better  than  cure,  but  there  is  no 
cure  for  the  wasted  life  of  the  adult,  no  cure  for  the  bad 
influence  he  has  put  forth  for  many  years;  the  man  is 
saved,  but  his  life  is  more  than  lost.  In  saving  the 
child  the  life  of  culture  and  influence  is  saved  also.  In 
saving  the  child  the  powers  of  heredity  are  also  enlisted, 
while  in  saving  adults  only  the  remaining  influence  of 
parents  over  grown  children  is  saved — the  heredity  has 
been  on  the  side  of  sin.  Twenty  men  and  women  of 
fifty  years  of  age  are  converted;  they  have  a  probability 
of  living  to  sixty-five,  so  three  hundred  years  of  life  on 
earth  are  saved;  but  there  is  no  possibility  of  heredity 
in  their  case.  Twenty  boys  and  girls  of  fifteen  years  of 
age  are  converted;  they  have  a  probability  of  living  to 
sixty-five,  so  one  thousand  years  of  life  on  earth  are 
saved,  and  the  boundless  possibility  of  heredity  is  en- 
listed on  the  side  of  Christianity,  and  not  only  of  hered- 
ity, but  of  a  new  environment.  Ministers  should  spend 
much  of  their  strength  on  their  sermons  and  in  striving 
to  reach  adults;  they  may  well  be  thankful  if  adults, 
heads  of  families,  are  converted;  but  they  should  re- 
member both  in  sermons  and  in  pastoral  work  the  chil- 
dren, and  may  well  joy  in  their  conversion — the  conver- 
sion of  the  society  and  the  families  of  the  future. 

A  "great  x^edagogic  maxim  is  that  teachers  are  to  be 
taught  to  teach;  they  are  to  be  trained  in  their  work,  are 
to  become  specialists.  This  pedagogic  maxim,  ^^  Teach- 
ing teachers  to  teach,"  runs  through  the  Bible.  The 
calling  of  Abraham  and  the  training  of  Israel  was  that 
they  might  teach  the  world.  The  schools  of  the  prophets 
taught  the  teachers  of   Israel.      The  brotherhood    of 


PEDAGOGY  185 

Christ  and  his  disciples  was  a  college  of  teachers  under 
the  Great  Teacher.  The  Church  to-day  is  being  trained 
and  inspired  by  her  Lord  to  disciple  the  whole  world. 
The  State  has  adopted  this  maxim;  it  has  its  standards 
and  examinations  of  teachers  and  its  normal  schools;  it 
fosters  schools  of  pedagogy,  and  it  constantly  cultures 
its  teachers  by  teachers'  conventions  under  exi^ert 
teachers. 

The  Church  has  splendid  opportunity  to  carry  out 
this  maxim,  and  should  heartily  embrace  it.  The  pastor 
of  each  church  should  regard  himself  as  the  leading 
teacher  of  a  large  teaching  force.  It  should  be  a  large 
part  of  his  ideal  and  effort  to  make  this  the  very  best 
possible  teaching  force.  In  carrying  out  this  maxim, 
^^  Teaching  teachers  to  teach,"  the  Church  has  a  marked 
superiority  over  the  State  in  three  particulars: 

1.  The  pastor  is  a  specialist  in  teaching.  He  is  found 
everywhere — one  in  every  church,  many  in  every  com- 
munity. 

2.  The  force  of  teachers  is  larger  and  better  than  the 
State  can  secure.  The  parents,  under  the  Church  inspira- 
tion and  training,  are  the  God-appointed  teachers.  The 
Sunday-school  teachers  are  prompted  by  their  love  of 
Christ  and  of  souls;  they  form  a  large  body  of  teachers 
desirious  of  doing  their  best  for  the  children  and  willing 
to  respond  to  any  wisely  directed  training. 

3.  The  Church  has  a  fascinating  field  of  investigation, 
the  Bible,  and  the  very  best  text-books,  the  catechisms, 
giving  the  truths  of  the  Bible  in  clear  and  progressive 
order. 

The  Church  should  emulate  and  excel  the  State 
not  only  in  the  method  and  thoroughness  of  the  instruc- 


186   MODEEN  PRACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

tion  given,  but  especially  in  striving  to  reach  and  ed- 
ucate all  the  children  of  each  community.  Parents, 
though  not  even  attendants  upon  the  church  services, 
will  generally  he  pleased  by  the  attention  paid  to 
their  children  in  the  Sunday-school;  and  if  the  in- 
struction given  is  thorough  and  from  the  heart,  the 
children  will  become  converted  and  thus  carry  the  spirit 
of  Christ  into  the  home.  The  Sunday-school,  in  seeking 
all  the  children  of  a  community,  is  entering  upon  a  mis- 
sion field  in  each  community  of  great  need  and  utmost 
hopefulness.  The  Sunday-school  is  not  designed  to  take 
the  religious  training  out  of  the  hand  of  Christian  par- 
ents; it  is  a  human  institution,  and  Christian  parents  are 
the  God-appointed  teachers  of  their  children — the  human 
institution  can  not  supersede  the  divinely  appointed  one, 
but  the  school  should  aim  to  be  the  parent's  ef&cient 
helper.  But  there  are  many  children  in  every  com- 
munity who  have  no  religious  instruction  at  home.  The 
State  schools  can  give  but  little  instruction  of  this 
kind,  tho  the  schools  of  a  Christian  community  are  dis- 
tinctly Christian.  But  if  these  children  are  to  receive 
any  thorough  instruction  in  religious  subjects  it  must 
come  through  the  Sunday-school.  Each  Sunday-school 
should  therefore  aim  to  bring  in  its  ranks  all  the  chil- 
dren within  its  reach,  and  to  give  the  most  thorough  in- 
struction possible. 

The  general  principles  concerning  the  nature  and 
management  of  a  Sunday-school  include  these: 

1.  It  is  a  church  institution.  The  church  should  have 
the  deepest  interest  in  it  and  a  loving  direction  of  it. 
The  of&cers  of  the  church  should  have  the  oversight  of 
it,  but  should  exercise  their  care  in  a  way  to  develop  the 


PEDAGOGY  187 

interest  aud  res])onsibility  of  self-government,  and  they 
should  be,  where  possible,  members  of  it.  The  pastor 
should  frequently  lead  the  prayers  of  the  church  for  it, 
and  should  advocate  it  from  the  pulpit.  It  is  an  im- 
portant field  of  his  work.  He  should  always  attend  its 
sessions,  and  should  honor  the  superintendent  and  help 
him  efficiently,  but  should  rarely  fill  that  office.  A 
good  plan  is  for  him  to  be  a  substitute  teacher,  and  by 
an  arrangement  with  teachers  and  the  superintendent 
seek  to  become,  in  course  of  a  year  or  more,  a  teacher  of 
each  class  and  of  each  child.  The  expense  of  the  school 
should  be  paid  by  the  church  as  a  rule. 

2.  It  is  a  religious  school.  The  officers  and  teachers 
should  know  by  experience  the  religious  truths  they 
teach,  should  be  prompted  by  religious  motives,  and 
should  put  forth  a  religious  influence. 

3.  It  is  a  schooly  not  a  church.  It  is  not  even  the  chil- 
dren's church.  The  church  service  is  the  place  for  wor- 
ship. The  children  should  be  present  there;  the  family 
should  worshi])  as  a  family.  Nothing  can  take  the  place 
of  this  in  the  religious  training  of  the  childi^en  of  Chris- 
tian parents.  But  the  Sunday-school  is  primarily  for  in- 
struction, not  for  worship.  The  worship  spirit  should 
pervade  all  its  exercises,  but  the  main  exercise  should 
be  teaching.  The  introductory  exercises  should  be 
short;  the  closing  exercises  short  also,  and  by  far  the 
larger  part  of  the  hour  should  be  given  to  teaching;  and 
this  is  all  too  short — a  part  of  an  hour  once  a  week  for 
all  the  religions  instruction  many  children  receive.  The 
aim  of  the  instruction  should  always  be  kept  in  mind 
— ^to  convince  the  mind,  and  bring  the  heart  into  loving 
allegiance  to  the  Savior. 


188    MODEEN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

Jf.  The  school  should  he  graded.  Due  account  should 
be  taken  of  the  advancing  ages  of  tlie  scholars  accord- 
ing to  the  principles  of  pedagogy.  Teachers  also 
thus  become  proficient  in  their  grades.  The  scholar 
comes  under  new  methods  and  influences  and  progressive 
truths. 

5.  The  Bible  should  he  the  familiar  hooh  from  the  first 
throughout.  Picture,  story,  song  are  the  three  ele- 
ments the  infant -class  teacher  relies  upon,  but  they  should 
all  be  Biblical.  Much  attention  should  be  paid  to  the 
kind  of  song  used.  In  the  intermediate  and  advanced 
schools  these  also  have  their  important  place,  but  must 
be  Biblical.  So  throughout  the  whole  school  the  choice 
passages  of  the  Bible,  ^'the  gold,  silver,  and  precious 
stones"  of  the  Scriptures,  should  be  selected  and  stored 
in  the  memory.  And  the  scholars  should  become  famil- 
iar with  the  Bible  as  a  whole.  Lesson  papers,  when 
used,  should  be  used  not  to  the  exclusion  of  the  Bible,  but 
as  a  help  to  it. 

The  catechisms  should  be  used  in  the  intermediate  and 
advanced  grades  as  guides  to  Bible  study.  They  give 
the  progressive  system  of  truths  in  such  grades,  they 
meet  the  demands  of  true  pedagogy,  and  may  be  of  great 
interest  to  the  scholars. 

The  catechisms  of  our  own  Church  are  Scriptural, 
simple)  progressive,  comprehensive,  and  concise.  They 
are  excellent  text-books  to  guide  in  the  study  of  the 
Bible.  '^  The  First  Lessons  in  Christian  Truth  "  should 
be  introduced  when  the  period  of  childhood  gives  place 
to  that  of  youth ;  this  should  be  followed  by  the  Com- 
pendium in  later  youth,  with  the  design  of  leading  the 
scholars  to  a  confession  of  faith   in  Christ ;    and  this 


PEDAGOGY  189 

should  be  followed  by  the  Heidelberg  Catechism,  which 
treats  of  truth  as  it  is  experieuced  by  the  believer. 

6.  The  aim  of  the  school  should  he  conversion  of  the 
scholars  to  Christ.  To  this  end  the  truth  is  to  be  pre- 
sented with  progressive  and  cumulative  force,  the  re- 
ligious personality  of  the  teacher  is  to  be  fully  engaged, 
and  the  whole  conduct  and  atmosphere  of  the  school  is 
to  be  constantly  directed. 

Often  it  is  wise  for  the  pastor  to  have  a  class  in  the 
Compendium,  which  prepares  for  church  membership, 
either  in  the  school  or  supplemental  to  it ;  but  it  is  bet- 
ter still  to  have  the  teachers  of  that  grade  use  this  Com- 
pendium for  that  purpose.  There  are  many  scholars  in 
each  school  between  twelve  and  seventeen  years  of  age. 
Two-thirds  of  Christians  take  the  decisive  step  between 
these  ages.  Teachers  should  have  a  private  talk  with 
each  scholar  on  the  subject.  They  may  set  a  date  before 
which  they  will  do  this,  that  it  may  not  be  neglected, 
but  it  is  better  to  seize  the  appropriate  time. 

A  Decision  Day  in  school  has  some  advantage,  but 
is  apt  to  make  formal  that  which  should  be  spontaneous 
and  hearty.  The  design  is  not  to  make  mere  church 
members,  but  intelligent,  well -instructed,  thoroughly 
convinced  and  whole-hearted,  enthusiastic  Christians. 

7.  The  time  of  the  Sunday-school  should  be  so  arranged 
with  the  time  of  the  church  services  that  both  teachers 
and  scholars  should  be  encouraged  to  attend  the  church. 
The  habits  of  church-going  should  be  early  formed. 
Where  scholars  graduate  from  the  school  without  having 
been  converted,  and  without  having  formed  church - 
going  habits,  they  frequently  remain  indifferent  to  the 
church  through  life. 


190    MODEEN  PEAOTICAL  THEOLOGY 

8.  Sunday- school  calisthenics — that  is,  exercises  to  de- 
velop the  strength  and  beauty  of  the  school — are  not  to  be 
neglected.  We  have  to  deal  with  children,  and  appeals  to 
the  child  nature  are  to  be  cultivated.  Eegular  and 
prompt  attendance  and  good  order  are  essentials.  The 
scholars  themselves  should  be  the  recruiting  agents  of 
the  school.  Eesponsive  reading  and  responsive  or  anti- 
phonal  singing  ;  the  presentation  of  banners  for  attend- 
ance at  Sunday-school  and  at  church;  reports  on  the 
blackboard  of  attendance  and  benevolence;  these  and 
many  other  exercises  that  may  be  devised  if  they  do  not 
absorb  time  or  detract  from  the  main  feature  of  the 
school,  thorough  instruction,  are  to  be  adopted. 

The  pastor  should  not  only  be  a  member  of  the  school 
and  a  substitute  teacher  when  possible,  but  each  week 
should  train  a  class  in  which  teachers  and  those  prepar- 
ing to  become  teachers  take  up  the  general  subject  of 
teaching.  The  principles  and  practises  of  pedagogy 
should  be  the  main  subject,  tho  the  general  knowl- 
edge of  the  Bible  and  the  preparation  of  the  next  Sun- 
day-school lesson  should  have  a  due  place.  The  pastor 
should  not  throw  the  responsibility  of  such  a  class  upon 
the  superintendent  or  any  one  else  ;  it  belongs  properly 
to  him. 

The  church  should  strive  to  attain  some  adequate  esti- 
mate df  the  value  of  the  children,  and  should  pay  them 
something  of  the  careful  attention  her  Lord  directs,  and 
the  pastor  here,  as  elsewhere,  is  the  leader  of  the  church. 

The  value  of  a  child  may  be  looked  at  from  three 
standpoints : 

1.  From  that  of  the  Scripture.  The  value  God  places 
upon  the  child  is  seen   in  that  the  covenant  includes 


PEDAGOGY  191 

children  ;  in  that  the  moral  law  given  the  race  makes 
mention  of  children  ;  in  that  provision  was  made  in  the 
Old  Testament  for  theii  instruction  in  the  family  and  the 
nation  ;  and  especially  in  the  attitude  and  teaching  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  to  and  about  children,  and  the 
teaching  by  the  Apostles,  which  is  based  on  Christ's. 

2.  From  the  standpoint  of  humanity.  The  young  child 
is  at  once  most  like  and  most  unlike  God  ;  it  has  many 
of  the  attributes  of  God  in  kind,  but  in  the  lowest  pos- 
sible degree.  These  attributes  may  be  left  untrained  and 
become  perverted,  or  they  may  be  developed  by  Chris- 
tian training  until  they  rule  the  whole  man,  and  he  feels 
the  feelings,  thinks  the  thoughts,  and  chooses  the  choices 
of  God,  so  that  at  last  he  attains  likeness  and  fellowship 
with  God. 

S,  From  the  standpomt  of  the  parents.  Each  child,  how- 
ever peculiar,  is  estimated  by  the  love  of  father  and 
mother  as  more  valuable  than  can  be  calculated  in  the 
money  or  gems  of  the  world.  The  pastor  and  the  church 
that  slight  the  children  slight  the  parents  beyond  ex- 
cuse, as  well  as  slight  God  and  humanity. 


CHAPTEE  VI 
SOCIOLOGY 

Sociology  is  the  science  that  treats  of  the  origin, 
nature,  history,  laws,  forces,  and  institutions  of  society. 
It  asks:  (1)  What  is  the  fact,  what  has  occurred?  (2) 
In  the  particular  facts,  are  there  any  things  general — 
i.e. J  regularly  repeated?  (3)  \yhat  are  the  causes  of 
these  general  elements  in  the  various  facts  ? 

Like  all  science,  sociology  investigates,  com]3ares, 
classifies,  and  reasons.  It  is  thus  distinguished  from 
socialism,  with  which  it  is  sometimes  popularly  con- 
fused. Socialism  is  one  of  the  many  possible  theories  of 
how  society  ought  to  be  arranged,  while  sociology  is  the 
science  of  society  as  it  is  and  as  it  probably  will  develop. 

Sociology  is  regarded  by  some  as  the  culminating  and 
combining  science,  the  practical  outcome  of  all  the 
sciences.  Astronomy  sees  the  earth  as  a  relatively 
small  ball,  related  to  other  balls,  swiftly  passing  through 
infinite  space  5  society  is  a  company  of  passengers  voy- 
aging on  it.  Geology,  biology,  and  kindred  natural 
sciences  see  force  streaming  up  from  the  earth  in  various 
forms,  chemical,  vital,  etc.;  these  culminate  in  social 
force.  ^  The  physicists  can  not  explain  the  passage  from 
non-living  to  living  matter — even  CA^olution  does  not  ex- 
plain origins — but  they  acknowledge  the  culmination  of 
development  to  be  in  man,  the  social  being.  Man,  en- 
dowed with  reason  and  a  social  nature,  becomes  by 
united  effort  master  of  life  in  all  forms  and  master  of  the 
earth  itself.  Physiology  sees  man  as  an  animal.  Psy- 
192 


SOCIOLOGY  193 

chology  sees  iu  him  a  conscious  niiud,  a  living  soul. 
These  sciences  all  culminate  in  the  combining  science  of 
sociology,  which  sees  this  living  soul  in  relation  with 
kindred  souls. 

The  principle  of  evolution,  so  far  as  it  is  seen  in 
other  sciences;  is  seen  in  sociology — the  orderly  unfolding 
of  the  great  plan  of  the  wise  Creator.  Three  elements  of 
this  principle  of  evolution  are  seen: 

1.  Man,  like  other  creatures,  produces  his  kind  from 
generation  to  generation,  and  the  law  of  inheritance  of 
likeness  is  crossed  by  the  law  of  variation  within  the 
limits  of  his  kind. 

2.  Progress  comes  from  selection,  which  involves  com- 
petition, '  ^  the  law  of  conflict  and  the  survival  of  the 
fittest" — i.e.,  of  those  best  adapted  to  the  condition  of 
life  in  any  land  or  age.  In  all  kinds  of  life  some  organ- 
isms are  slightly  above  the  average,  some  are  below  it ; 
in  the  competition  between  these  there  is  ceaseless  and 
inevitable  selection  and  rejection,  with  the  result  of 
ceaseless  and  inevitable  progress.  When  we  reach  man, 
two  new  forces  appear:  reason  and  capacity  to  act  in 
concert  with  his  fellows  in  organized  society.  In  the 
great  drama  slowly  unfolding  in  new  and  complex  con- 
ditions the  selection  and  rejection  go  on  until  the  twen- 
tieth century  man  is  reached;  and  the  end  is  not  yet. 

3.  The  law  of  affection.  Birds  and  even  tigers  risk 
life  to  defend  their  young,  or  the  species  would  die  out. 
Nature,  in  the  struggle  for  existence,  develops  love;  she 
offers  the  premium  of  continued  existence  to  sympathy 
and  helpfulness.  Man,  with  the  two  forces,  reason  and 
comx3anionship  with  his  fellows,  may  consciously  prefer 
and  foster  this  last  law.     The  constant  accomi^animent 


194    MODERN  PRACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

of  evolution  is  the  presiding  Creator,  and  at  times  the 
introduction  of  a  new  force.  Christianity,  the  superna- 
tural revelation  of  the  Divine  nature  in  human  nature, 
supplements  this  law  of  affection,  and  is  preeminently 
the  new  force  introduced  in  the  fulness  of  time.  Science 
in  any  field  simply  studies  how  God  works  in  that  field. 
So  the  science  of  sociology  studies  how  God  works,  what 
are  His  'methods  of  developing  and  molding  human 
nature  in  society. 
Sociology  has  three  great  departments : 

1,  Descriptive.  The  essence  and  structure  of  society 
existing  now  as  the  outcome  of  the  past.  It  is  the  syn- 
thesis of  all  that  has  been  learned  about  society. 

2.  Statical  The  powers  and  ideals  existing  in  society. 
It  takes  the  facts  and  forces  of  descriptive  sociology,  and 
regards  them  as  containing  social  potencies  determining 
social  possibilities.  It  wastes  no  time  in  fancying  what 
society  might  be  if  laziness  was  an  element  of  progress, 
it  bases  its  ideals  on  the  experience  of  mankind. 

S.  Dynamic.  The  possibility  of  intelligently  directing 
the  action  of  the  inherent  powers  of  society  to  the  at- 
tainment of  its  ideals.  It  is  the  culmination  of  sociology, 
and  considers  the  available  force  for  changing  a  latent 
idea  into  a  living  reality. 

Bijple  sociology  is  the  sum  of  our  knowledge  of  the 
particular  society  described  in  the  Bible.  The  Bible 
gives  the  account  of  the  origin  and  growth  of  a  society 
whose  distinctive  feature  is  that  it  has  a  special  pro- 
gressive revelation  of  the  being,  character,  and  will  of  the 
true  God,  and  the  Bible  shows  how  this  society  has  been 
bound  together  and  molded  by  such  revelation.  It 
begins  with  a  family,  which  grows  into  a  nation,  spreads 


SOCIOLOGY  195 

into  a  society  unlimited  by  race  or  national  bounds^  and 
promises  to  embrace  the  whole  society  of  the  human 
race.  The  growing  revelation  of  God  shows  Him  worthy 
of  the  supreme  love  of  mankind.  Man  is  cultured  in 
this  society  until  each  one  recognizes  every  other  mem- 
ber of  the  Tviiole  race  as  worthy  of  the  love  he  bears 
himself.  The  religion  of  the  Bible  is  theological,  based 
upon  the  knowledge  of  God  as  worthy  of  supreme  love, 
and  sociological,  based  upon  the  knowledge  of  man  as 
worthy  of  the  love  each  one  gives  himself,  and  it  enters 
with  controlling  power  into  all  the  relations  of  this 
earthly  life,  and  anticipates  a  social  life  in  the  eternal 
future.  The  Bible  clearly  presents,  as  the  fundamental 
truth  of  all  sociology,  that  man^s  like-mindedness  with 
his  brother  man  arises  from  his  like-mindedness  with  his 
Father,  God.  The  basis  of  the  solidarity  of  the  race  is 
the  Fatherhood  of  God.  Bible  sociology  is  the  sociology 
of  the  Kingdom  of  God,  an  ideal  society  of  the  whole 
race  of  man  on  the  earth.  It  is  historical  and  descriptive 
from  Genesis  to  Eevelation ;  it  is  statical,  as  it  contains 
this  reasonable  ideal;  and  it  is  dynamic,  as  it  provides  the 
power  to  realize  this  ideal,  the  Divine  Father  indwelling 
in  His  children. 

Since  sociology  is  not  studied  in  colleges  generally, 
and  when  it  is  studied  it  is  apt  to  be  an  elective,  fre- 
quently the  only  place  to  begin  the  study  before  entering 
upon  the  life-work  is  the  theological  seminary.  It 
should  be  studied  by  the  theological  student  for  at  least 
five  reasons : 

1.  To  give  him  a  general  knowledge  of  the  elements 
of  sociology  and  a  special  knowledge  of  the  sociology  of 
the  Bible,  since  a  large  part  of  his  life-work  is  to  apply 


196        MODEE:^r  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

the  latter  to  the  former.  Christ's  interest  is  not  alone  in 
theological  truths;  it  is  also  deeply  in  sociological  prob- 
lems. Some  one  says,  '-  '■  Where  the  Bible  has  one  page 
of  theology  it  has  ten  pages  of  sociology."  Such  rad- 
ical statements  should  make  us  none  the  less  theologians, 
but  only  the  more  sociologists.  As  we  are  to  study  indi- 
viduals in  order  to  reach  them,  so  we  are  to  study  society 
in  order  to  reach  it;  but  in  both  cases  the  Gospel  must 
be  magnified  as  our  distinctive  message.  We  are  not  to 
abandon  theology;  rather  we  are  to  bring  the  truths 
and  powers  of  the  spiritual  world  to  bear  upon  the  world 
of  to-day,  and  are  to  teach  the  religion  of  the  sociology 
of  the  Kingdom  of  God. 

2.  To  quicken  the  minister' s  sympathy  for  humanity. 
The  love  of  souls  is  apt  to  be  somewhat  vague  unless  we 
consider  the  social  relations  and  varied  conditions  of  life, 
the  influence  of  the  past  and  of  the  present  upon  the 
prospects  of  the  future. 

3.  To  give  him  clear  views  of  the  progress  Christianity 
has  made  in  changing  society,  lifting  woman,  caring  for 
childhood,  purifying  the  home,  and  ennobling  life.  It 
illumines  Church  history,  which  is  not  a  record  merely 
of  Church  growth  and  development  of  government, 
worship,  and  morals,  but  of  the  influence  of  Christianity 
spreading  from  the  Church  life  and  changing  the  man- 
ners,""  customs,  and  spirit  of  the  surrounding  society,  the 
spreading  power  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  through  the 
centuries. 

4.  To  give  him  broad  views  of  the  missionary  work  of 
to-day,  the  achievements  of  Christianity  in  changing  the 
social  conditions  prevailing  in  heathen  lands. 

6.  To  qualify  him  as  a  leader  to  make  the  church  work 


SOCIOLOGY  197 

upon  each  community  an  intelligent  and  conscious  effort 
to  better  society,  instead  of  an  unintended  and  uncon- 
scious influence.  Piety  is  good  in  itself,  and  its  influ- 
ence is  generally  sweet  and  wholesome;  but  it  has  made 
some  blunders  in  administering  charity,  in  caring  for 
prisoners,  etc.  In  many  directions  an  intelligent  piety 
is  needed  to  meet  the  complex  needs  of  society. 

Society  in  the  largest  sense  is  the  race  of  men 
in  their  consciousness  of  kind  and  the  relations  that 
arise  therefrom;  in  a  smaller  sense,  it  is  any  group  of 
like-minded  individuals  who  know  their  like-mindedness 
and  work  together  for  common  ends.  Here,  as  else- 
where in  nature,  there  is  ^^  unity  in  diversity  and  diver- 
sity in  unity."  The  like-minded  persons  have  many 
differences,  and  so  are  capable  and  desirous  of  communi- 
cation, and  of  sharing  the  same  thoughts,  desires,  and 
purposes.  They  are  alike  and  still  differ  in  many  things, 
and  so  can  be  classified;  they  know  this,  and  so  classify 
themselves. 

Society  is  not  an  organism,  but  is  wonderfully  like 
one  in  at  least  five  striking  particulars.  An  organism 
in  biology  refers  to  a  living  body,  either  vegetable  or 
animal,  composed  of  different  organs  or  parts,  with 
functions  which  are  separate  but  mutually  dependent, 
and  essential  to  the  life  of  the  organism. 

1.  Society  is  like  an  organism,  in  that  it  is  not  dead 
but  living;  it  grows  and  acts. 

2.  Society,  like  the  organism,  is  made  up  of  a  multi- 
tude of  living  cells  or  individuals.  The  human  body, 
for  instance,  has  in  its  structure  five  or  six  billions  of 
living  cells;  many  are  constantly  dying  and  being  carried 
away,  and  their  places  are  filled  with  new  living  cellsj 


198   MODERN  PEACTIOAL  THEOLOGY 

tlius  the  body  lives.  So  society,  each  smaller  group,  or 
the  whole  race,  is  composed  of  individuals,  the  race  of  a 
billion  and  a  half  of  living  cells;  many  of  these  are  con- 
stantly dying,  but  their  places  are  filled  with  new  indi- 
viduals— thus  the  society  lives  on  through  the  ages. 

3.  In  society,  as  in  an  organism,  these  living  cells  or 
individuals  are  arranged  in  distinguishable  parts  or 
organs.  The  cells,  or  individuals,  in  both  cases,  are  the 
same  in  kind,  but  differ  in  relations;  in  the  body  some 
are  arranged  in  the  brain,  some  in  the  heart;  in  society 
some  are  farmers,  some  are  traders. 

4.  In  society,  as  in  an  organism,  the  c  ^^arts  or  organs 
cooperate  with  each  other.  Cooperation  is  the  law  of 
the  body  and  of  society.  The  apostle  Paul  says  of  the 
Church:  ^^  The  head  can  not  say  to  the  foot  I  have  no 
need  of  thee. ' ' 

5.  The  complete  life  is  only  realized  by  complete  co- 
operation. Life  is  low  in  the  whole  body  if  any  impor- 
tant organ  fails  to  cooperate.  If  a  man  has  a  paralyzed 
arm  he  is  so  much  less  a  full  man.  So  in  society  a 
labor  strike  or  a  capitalistic  lockout  is  a  paralysis  of  an 
organ,  and  its  lack  of  cooperation  brings  the  whole 
society  into  a  low  condition  of  life.  The  intelligent  per- 
son or  organism  has  the  power  of  seeing  its  defects  and 
correcting  them;  he  may  foster  brain  development  or 
muscular  development,  he  may  secure  a  large  growth  in 
a  desired  direction,  but  if  he  is  wise  he  will  cultivate 
the  harmonious  development  of  all  his  parts.  So  the 
ideal  society  can  only  be  reached  by  the  full  develop- 
ment and  complete  cooperation  of  all  its  parts. 

While  society  is  not  an  organism,  its  likeness  to  one  is 
the  basis  of  the  organic  conception  of  society. 


SOCIOLOGY  199 

There  are  three  essentials  iu  the  process  of  the 
organization  of  a  particular  group  into  a  society: 

1.  Coexistence  in  the  same  territory.  Extended  means 
of  communication  widen  the  possible  territory. 

2.  Means  of  communication.  Language  is  needed,  or 
exchange  of  ideas  by  symbols,  some  means  of  discover- 
ing similarities  and  differences,  and  of  coming  to  agree- 
ments. 

3.  Besemblances  or  like-mindedness  arising  from  kin- 
ship, mental  and  moral  qualities,  and  potential  social 
qualities  to  be  drawn  out  with  the  advancing  organiza- 
tion, as  assimilation  of  different  families,  races,  and 
beliefs.  The  relations  to  each  other  and  various  forms 
of  cooperative  activity  spring  up  as  results  of  individual 
suggestion  and  practical  convenience.  When  these 
become  so  conspicuous  as  to  challenge  general  attention, 
they  are  pronounced  by  the  general  consciousness,  or 
social  mind,  as  good,  doubtful,  or  evil,  and  further 
development  is  encouraged  or  checked. 

Sympathy  arising  from  resemblances  and  differences 
is  the  main  force  in  society.  Drive  a  hundred  discord- 
ant men  of  different  races,  languages,  and  religions  into 
a  small  territory,  and  at  first  there  would  be  no  society. 
But  soon  sympathy  arises,  companionship  is  pleasurable 
in  itself — besides  it  secures  safety,  increase  of  comfort,  by 
exchanging  helpfulness  and  cooperation — and  society 
emerges.  Towns,  cities,  nations,  schools,  laws,  churches 
result  fi^om  sympathy.  The  community  of  ideas  and 
choices  has  many  degrees.  Some  races  and  peoples  are 
more  closely  bound  than  others.  In  the  closest  unions 
conflicting  factors  may  exist  and  are  so  far  an  element  of 
weakness. 


200   MODEEN  PRACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

Individuals  are  grouped  in  society  by  spontaneous 
or  voluntary  action  into  aggregates  and  organs.  xA.n  ex- 
ample of  spontaneous  aggregates  is  blood-relationship. 
An  example  of  voluntary  aggregates  is  friendship.  Or- 
gans differ  from  aggregates  in  that  they  are  the  grouping 
of  individuals  for  the  performance  of  social  tasks — into 
farmers,  storekeepers,  and  the  like.  A  man  earns  his 
living  by  doing  something  for  society.  His  occupation 
groups  him  in  an  organ.  These  organs  are  often  some- 
what spontaneous — a  man  may  be  born  into  his  trade  or 
occupation,  but  generally  this  association  is  voluntary. 
The  individual  in  society  is  not  confined  to  one  relation. 
Aggregates  cross  and  overlap  each  other.  In  proportion 
to  the  many-sidedness  of  individuals  and  the  interlacing 
of  aggregates  is  the  firmness  of  society  against  outward 
shock  or  inward  disruption.  If,  for  example,  the  wealthy 
aggregate  is  bound  together  with  the  poor  by  ancestry, 
friendship,  political  parties,  and  church  relations,  the 
whole  society  is  much  stronger  than  if  each  aggregate 
were  a  class  by  itself.  So  a  church,  including  all  classes 
in  its  membership,  the  rich  and  the  poor,  the  capitalist 
and  the  working-man,  is  a  strong  bond  of  society,  while 
one  having  a  membership  of  only  the  rich,  or  only  the 
poor,  is  a  weak  bond. 

These  aggregates  and  organs  are  arranged  in  organized 
society  into  four  great  systems: 

1.  The  sustaining  system,  including   farms,    fisheries, 
mines,  and  the  like. 

2.  The    transporting  and  distributing  system,   including 
roads,  waterways,  stores,  factories,  and  the  like. 

3.  The  communicating  system,  including  the  mails,  tele- 
graph, the  press,  and  the  like. 


BOCIOLOGY  201 

4.  The  regulating  system,  including  government  of  par- 
ents, of  the  State,  the  control  by  public  opinion,  the 
school,  the  Church,  and  the  like.  It  is  quite  evident 
the  welfare  of  society  depends  upon  the  complete  co- 
operation of  these  great  systems. 

In  the  progressive  organization  of  society  there  are 
(1)  primary  classes,  which  are  fundamental  in  its  growth, 
and  (2)  secondary  classes,  which  are  the  results  of  its 
growth. 

The  primary  classes  are  three: 

1.  The  Vitality  Class.  Of  this  there  are  three  grades: 
(rt)  The  High  Vitality,  where  the  birth-rate  is  high  and 
the  death-rate  is  low,  and  where  there  is  much  bodily 
vigor  and  mental  power — e.g.,  the  highest  class  of  farmers 
and  business  men;  (b)  the  Medium  Vitality,  where  the 
birth-rate  is  low  and  a  low  death-rate  also,  where  there 
is  fair  bodily  vigor  but  high  mental  power — e.g.,  the  ner- 
vous people  of  city  life,  swept  along  in  the  rush  of  busi- 
ness or  x)leasm'e;  (c)  the  Low  Vitality,  with  high  birth- 
rate but  also  high  death-rate,  where  there  is  low  bodily 
and  mental  power — e.g.,  the  ignorant  and  unclean  people 
of  both  country  and  city. 

2.  The  Ability  Class.  Of  this  also  there  are  three 
grades:  (a)  The  Inventive,  men  and  women  of  genius 
and  high  talent,  the  creators  of  the  beautiful  and  the 
useful;  (&)  the  Imitative,  people  of  mental  and  moral 
soundness — the  mass  of  ordinary  people;  (e)  the  Defect- 
ive, either  in  body  or  mind. 

3.  The  Social  Class.  Of  this  there  are  four  grades:  (a) 
The  High  Social,  those  ^of  sympathy  and  public  spirit; 
(b)  the  Non-Social,  those  of  narrow  individualism, 
preferring  to  be  alone   and  to  be  let  alone;    (c)    the 


202    MODEEN  PEAOTICAL  THEOLOGY 

Pseiido- Social,  those  who  live  as  parasites,  paupers  in 
spirit;  (d)  the  Anti-Social,  those  who  live  by  aggression 
on  society — the  vicious  and  the  criminal. 

Natural  inequality  is  not  overcome  by  association, 
tho  it  may  be  modified.  Distribute  all  wealth  ecxually, 
and  still  the  difference  in  constitutions  and  nourish- 
ment, sanitary  conditions,  and  the  like,  would  make 
inequality  in  vitality,  ability,  and  sociality.  These  pri- 
mary classes  overlap  each  other,  and  wherever  the  high- 
est grades  of  each  class  overlap  we  have  the  natural 
social  leadere,  the  real  aristocracy  of  society. 

The  distinguished  are  rare.  They  are  men  and 
women  of  vitality,  ability,  and  sociality;  but  the  service 
of  this  preeminent  social  class  is  great.  It  sets  the  ex- 
amples and  standards  of  society,  the  unwritten  rules  of 
conduct;  it  does  most  of  the  thinking  for  society,  dis- 
covers the  truths  of  science,  philosophy,  and  religion, 
and  leads  in  organizing  and  directing  society;  it  con- 
tributes most  of  the  higher  forms  of  beauty  and  happi- 
ness, poetry,  art,  music,  and  the  refinements  of  courtesy, 
giving  grace  and  beauty  and  happiness  to  social  life. 

The  secondary  classes  are  many.  The  main  ones 
are:  (1)  The  Political  Classes,  the  rulers  and  the  ruled; 
(2)  the  Industrial  Classes,  the  employers  and  the  em- 
ployees; (3)  the  Economic  Classes,  the  rich  and  the 
poor.  V  These  are  products  of  social  organization.  There 
are  lower  grouj^s  of  society  in  which  even  these  differ- 
ences hardly  exist. 

The  steps  in  the  organization  of  society  are: 

1.  The  Family.  All  human  beings  live  in  family 
groups,  even  the  lowest  savages,  tho  the  kinds  of  family 
are  many. 


SOCIOLOGY  203 

2,  Hordes.  A  group  of  several  families  without  further 
organization. 

8.  Tribes.  Several  hordes  combining  in  an  organization 
having  a  leader  or  chief. 

4-.  Confederations.  Tribes  pressed  together  for  defense 
or  aggression,  or  drawn  together  by  the  consciousness  of 
kind,  form  a  people  or  nation.  An  ethiiic  nation  is  where 
the  social  bond  is  a  real  or  fictitious  blood-kinship,  and 
it  grows  by  the  increase  of  births  over  deaths.  A 
demotic  nation  is  largely  made  up  with  little  blood- rela- 
tionship, and  grows  by  drawing  to  itself  from  outside 
sources — e.g.,  the  United  States  to-day.  Our  growth  is 
not  purely  ethnic,  except  in  a  few  localities,  but  is  the 
result  of  immigration  mingled  with  the  native,  or  of  pure 
immigration. 

The  results  of  progressive  organization  of  society 
are  material  tvealth,  resulting  from  security  and  coopera- 
tion, Sind  psychical  wealthy  which  is  (1)  emancipation  from 
fear  and  superstition,  from  impulse,  as  men  combine  in 
acting  and  thinking  and  controlling  themselves j  and  (2) 
the  attainment  of  the  arts  and  sciences;  and  (3)  the 
growth  of  the  individual  in  intelligence  and  morality. 
Organization  promotes  the  good  of  the  organized,  both 
in  possessions  and  self- development. 

The  life  of  society  seems  to  reside  in  the  social  struc- 
ture rather  than  in  the  individual  members,  as  it  does  in 
an  organism.  The  individual  members  of  the  city  or 
nation  perish,  the  structure  of  the  city  or  nation  per- 
sists, tho  often  modified.  The  persistent  structure  is 
maintained  rather  by  psychical  than  by  physical  forces. 
The  common  stock  of  ideas,  the  accumulated  experi- 
ence of  generations;  the  business  and  governmental  rela- 


204   MODEEN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

tions,  the  manners^  customs,  and  habits  constitute  social 
vitality. 

The  progress  of  society  is  in  the  nature  of  growth 
or  development  of  the  social  structure.  The  physical 
forces  of  aggregates  and  organs  are  stimulated^  directed, 
and  restrained  by  the  psychical  forces  into  the  four 
great  systems  of  society,  thus  leading  to  the  progress 
under  complex  conditions  from  savagery  to  civilization. 
Individual  desires  constantly  regulated  by  common  psy- 
chical forces  gradually  produce  the  general  activities  in 
a  multitude  of  forms  necessary  to  the  preservation  and 
progress  of  social  life.  The  provisioning  of  a  great  city, 
to  take  a  single  instance,  is  not  intelligently  directed  by 
any  man  or  body  of  men,  nor  has  it  been  planned  by 
society  itself;  it  is  a  growth,  but  it  is  fully  as  well  done 
as  the  supply  of  an  army  by  the  commissary  general. 

Future  improvement  or  progress  of  society  in  any 
particular  direction  or  in  general  must  be  in  the  nature 
of  growth.  Whatever  seems  like  revolution  is  only  a 
con\ailsion  of  evolution — if  there  are  any  good  results — 
like  the  bursting  of  buds  into  leafage.  There  is  no  place 
for  destructive  revolution  in  a  living  thing.  We  may 
pull  down  a  wall  and  build  another,  but  we  can  not  cut 
down  a  tree  and  set  it  up  again.  All  we  can  do  with  a 
tree  is  to  trim  it  and  cultivate  it.  The  task  of  the  prac- 
tical sociologist  can  only  be  intentionally  and  intelli- 
gently to  direct  and  hasten  growth  to  a  higher  social 
ideal,  and  this  can  only  be  done  by  the  cultivation  of  the 
common  psychical  forces.  The  present  order  of  society 
is  all  we  have;  we  must  work  with  it  or  nothing.  The 
ideal  nation  or  city  can  only  come  about  by  the  present 
nation  or  city  growing  better;  and  it  is  so  with  each 


SOCIOLOGY  205 

community.     The  churches  led  by  their  pastors  should 
be  practical  sociologists. 
The  three  main  elements  of  sociology  are: 

1.  The  FJiysical  Basis  of  Society.  This  is  the  earth  it- 
self, the  home  of  the  race;  the  land  or  country  in  which 
a  particular  social  organization  resides. 

2.  The  Social  Person — the  individual  man. 

3.  The  Institutions  founded  in  the  nature  of  the  social 
person. 

The  land  or  country  in  which  a  particular  people  or 
nation  live  directs  and  limits  their  social  action  to  a 
large  extent,  and  molds  the  general  character  of  the 
people.  The  fertility  of  the  land,  together  with  rivers, 
coasts,  and  means  of  communication,  limits  the  extent  of 
the  population,  determines  largely  their  employments, 
and  greatly  influences  their  character.  The  climate,  the 
formation  of  the  land  (whether  mountains  or  plains,  etc. ), 
and  its  situation  with  regard  to  other  countries,  affect 
race  characteristics,  determine  the  kind  of  patriotism, 
and  even  mold  the  form  of  government.  Xorthem 
races  are  hardy;  where  the  snow  flies,  liberty  may 
flourish;  broad  plains  and  wide  seas  make  broad-minded 
men;  mountains  make  grand  and  strong  men.  The  land 
is  not  only  a  stony  field  or  a  rich  garden;  it  is  a  gallery 
of  pictures;  it  feeds  not  only  stomachs  but  brains;  there 
are  as  many  landscai)es  as  pairs  of  eyes  to  see  them,  and 
their  constant  presence  has  great  influence  on  the  eyes. 
The  far-seers  were  not  only  inspired  of  God,  they  dwelt 
upon  the  mountains  of  Judah.  So  God  cultures  people. 
Our  own  nation,  living  on  the  broad  bosom  of  a  con- 
tinent, has  a  wide  outlook  on  the  whole  earth;  self- am- 
bition would  lead  her  to  seek  to  rule  the  earth;  but  she 


20fi      modee:n^  practical  theology 

is  a  Christian  nation,  and  with  the  growing  spirit  of 
Christ  in  her  character  she  will  minister  to  the  good  of 
the  earth;  but,  whether  selfish  or  Christian,  her  position 
makes  her  a  world  power. 

The  social  person  has  two  leading  elements: 
(1)  the  bodily  appetites  and  (2)  the  mental  character- 
istics. Both  have  large  influence  in  forming  and  mold- 
ing society. 

1.  The  bodily  appetites  of  hunger  and  love  are  the  strong 
forces  in  all  history,  in  the  maintenance  and  distribution 
of  the  race,  in  securing  sustenance  through  industry, 
enterprise,  or  migration,  in  seeking  the  best  health  con- 
ditions, and  in  continuing  the  existence  of  the  race 
through  the  difference  of  sexes.  Whatever  social  the- 
ories are  being  considered,  hunger  and  love  are  steadily 
at  work  molding  social  conditions. 

2.  The  mind  is  the  basis  of  personality.  The  differ- 
ences of  mental  characteristics  in  the  social  person  are 
the  ground  and  cause  of  unity  in  society;  there  is  a 
comity  of  interest  in  their  free  exercise  and  develop- 
ment. Special  individual  tastes  and  aptitudes  cultivate 
themselves  by  pleasure  in  exercise,  find  the  rewards  of 
success,  and  so  combine  in  social  values.  The  regula- 
tion of  the  bodily  appetites  and  the  combination  of  indi- 
vidual gifts  largely  mould  and  modify  society. 

In^the  make-up  of  the  social  person  two  great 
forces  are  constantly  at  work :  (1)  heredity  and  (2) 
environment.  These  are  so  interwoven  that  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  consider  either  separately. 

I.  Heredity,  (a)  This  has  a  large  general  influence. 
The  marked  race  distinctions,  tho  there  are  many  other 
active  forces,  such  as  the  inheritance  of  country,  Ian- 


SOCIOLOGY  207 

guage,  government,  and  the  like,  are  largely  due  to  hered- 
ity; e.g.,  the  Arab,  the  Anglo-Saxon.  (5)  Heredity  has 
also  a  large  particular  influence.  Physical  form,  mental 
habits,  many  moral  tendencies  and  dispositions,  come 
from  ancestry.  There  is  of  necessity  a  large  amount  of 
variation  as  well  as  persistence  of  traits  in  particular 
heredity,  since  each  individual  comes  from  two  parents. 
Here  also  heredity  can  not  be  considered  alone.  It  is  in- 
separably connected  with  the  inheritance  of  physical 
conditions,  with  parental  influence  in  the  most  suscepti- 
ble period  of  life,  and  with  general  social  environment. 

In  Bible  sociology  heredity  has  a  prominent  place. 
A  family  is  selected  and  guarded  against  contaminating 
influences,  and  the  hereditary  traits  in  the  Jewish  race 
remain  strong  until  this  day — the  faith  in  the  one  God 
of  Abraham,  the  pure  wedded  love  of  Isaac,  the  busi- 
ness shrewdness  of  Jacob.  Not  only  in  a  particular 
family,  but  in  the  general  law  of  humanity  given  in  the 
Bible,  heredity  has  a  prominent  place.  The  second 
commandment  visits  the  iniquity  of  the  fathers  upon  the 
children  to  the  third  and  fourth  generation,  and  shows 
mercy  to  the  thousandth  generation  of  those  that  love 
God  and  keep  His  commandments. 

Under  the  government  of  God  the  race  exists  in  suc- 
cessive generations,  and  each  generation  receives  from 
those  that  have  passed  not  only  its  being,  but  largely  its 
character  and  conditions — not,  however,  to  the  extent  of 
interfering  with  responsibility,  nor  of  precluding  changes. 
So  the  Bible  appeals  to  the  will  to  arise  out  of  a  bad 
heredity,  and  to  choose  the  good  firmly,  not  only  for 
one's  self,  but  for  his  children. 

A  man  chooses  a  vicious  course ;  he  impairs  his  consti- 


208   MODEEN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

tution,  ruins  his  reputation,  and  squanders  his  property. 
The  strong  tendency  will  be  for  his  children  to  have  his 
impaired  constitution  and  vicious  character,  his  ruined 
reputation,  and  his  poverty.  His  wife  may  have  the 
reverse  character,  and  if  she  is  strong  as  well  there  will 
be  a  reverse  heredity  and  influence;  but  if  she  is  like 
him  the  heredity  will  be  confirmed. 

But  the  case  is  not  hopeless;  bad  heredity  is  to  the 
third  or  fourth  generation,  good  is  to  the  thousandth. 
The  law  works  with  absolute  and  impartial  justice,  but 
it  leans  to  the  side  of  blessing,  and  so  makes  a  strong 
appeal  to  the  most  enfeebled  will.  A  child  inherits  an 
impaired  constitution;  but  there  are  restorative  forces 
within  the  child  and  a  world  of  remedies  without.  A 
child  inherits  a  dull  mind;  but  there  is  still  in  the  dullest 
a  thirst  for  knowledge,  and  it  is  surrounded  by  the  intel- 
ligence of  others.  A  child  inherits  an  irreligious  char- 
acter; but  there  is  still  in  the  soul  an  unrest  for  God,  and 
there  is  Christianity  in  the  community. 

So  with  the  race.  The  limit  of  degradation  seems 
fixed.  The  limit  of  progress  can  not  be  imagined.  How- 
ever degraded  a  portion  of  the  race  may  be,  still  the  soul 
is  capable  of  knowing  God  and  of  being  renewed  in  His 
likeness;  and  Christ,  through  Christianity,  is  still  seek- 
ing to  save;  and  what  a  saved  soul  or  a  saved  race  may 
becQme  no  one  but  God  knows. 

2.  Environment.  This  force  has  large  but  not  con- 
trolling influence  in  molding  both  the  individual  and 
society.  The  influence  of  land  and  climate  has  been 
considered.  The  social  conditions  tend  to  pei-petuate 
themselves  by  molding  the  individual  to  be  content  with 
them  or  to  despair  under  them.     Two  things  modify 


SOCIOLOGY  209 

this  influence:  first,  the  power  of  the  human  will,  and, 
second,  the  power  of  the  Divine  influence  on  the  soul 
and  on  general  society  directly,  and  then  through  the 
forces  of  a  changing  environment. 

In  Bible  sociology,  environment  has  a  prominent  place 
in  four  particulars  : 

1.  In  showing  the  strength  of  the  individual  will,  en- 
dowed with  Divine  power  to  resist  the  worst  environ- 
ment f  e.g.,  Joseph,  Moses,  Daniel,  Stephen,  and  the 
Church  in  a  heathen  city. 

2.  In  calling  out  of  a  bad  environment;  e.g.,  Abraham, 
Moses,  Matthew,  Paul,  the  children  of  Israel  from 
Egypt,  from  Babylon. 

3.  The  providing  of  good  environment;  e.g.,  the  grant 
to  Israel  of  the  land  of  Judea  generally,  and  in  particular, 
the  giving  each  family  a  possession  in  it,  thus  fostering 
separate  homes  and,  in  the  process  of  time,  the  Christian 
home. 

4.  In  changing  a  bad  into  a  good  environment;  e.g.,  the 
establishment  of  a  church  in  a  heathen  community,  mak- 
ing the  church  itself  a  brotherhood  of  love  taken  out 
of  that  community  in  spirit,  but  still  living  in  it,  to 
spread  its  influence,  thus  making  the  city  and  the  nation 
in  after  generations  Christian. 

Christianity  has  two  distinct  aims  with  reference 
to  heredity  and  environment: 

1.  To  rescue  from  an  evil  heredity  and  en\aronment 
by  changing  the  will  and  renewing  the  soul. 

2.  To  improve  heredity  and  environment  by  changing 
society,  bringing  in  the  Kingdom  of  God  for  the  present 
and  future  generations.  Heredity  and  environment  fur- 
nish a  tendency  toward  vice  or  virtue,  but  not  a  necessity 


210        MODEEN   PRACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

for  either.  The  supremacy  of  the  will  over  both  is  ac- 
knowledged. Each  man  is  responsible  for  not  resisting 
bad  heredity  and  environment,  or  for  not  using  good 
heredity  and  environment;  in  either  case  there  is  grave 
responsibility.  No  man  need  be  a  slave  to  his  dead 
grandfather,  nor  a  prisoner  of  circumstances,  while 
Christ  gives  the  power  to  become  a  son  of  God.  Jerry 
McAuley,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  put  his  foot  on 
heredity  and  environment,  and  stood  erect  a  son  of  God. 
^one  the  less,  but  all  the  more,  Christianity  sees  the 
power  of  both  heredity  and  environment,  and  seeks  to 
use  them  for  the  Kingdom  of  God.  Good  parentage  and 
a  good  neighborhood  are  not  the  new  birth,  but  they  are 
very  favorable  conditions  for  it.  In  the  spread  of  the 
Kingdom  of  God  the  covenant  is  with  us  and  with  our 
children  to  a  thousand  generations. 

The  Institutions  founded  on  the  nature  of  the  social 
person  are  those  of: 

1.  The  Family. 

2.  Industry. 

3.  Culture;  e.g.,  School,  Church. 

4.  Control;  e.g.,  Town,  State,  Nation. 

I.  The  family  is  founded  mainly  upon  these  three  ele- 
ments in  the  social  person: 

(«)  Sexual  difference,  and  the  nearly  equal  number  of 
the  sexes. 

(b^  The  capacity  of  an  exclusive  and  lifelong  passion 
between  one  man  and  one  woman. 

(c)  Prolonged  infancy  and  youth  of  children  needing 
parental  care. 

The  sexual  passion  has  for  its  object  the  perpetuation 
of  the  race.     The  family  is  based  upon  the  regulation  of 


SOCIOLOGY  211 

the  sexual  passion  in  the  production  and  care  of  chil- 
dren. The  purely  psychic  emotions  of  the  sexes  are  the 
outgrowth  and  flower  of  the  sexual  passion.  The  pro- 
longed infancy  of  children  has  had  vast  influence  in  the 
growth  of  civilization.  This,  together  with  the  capacity 
for  lifelong  and  exclusive  affection  of  the  parents,  make 
monogamy  the  basis  of  the  permanent  family. 

In  the  family  the  social  elements  have  their  finest 
culture.  The  capacity  for  parental  love  lies  dormant 
until  a  child  draws  it  out  into  full  vigor.  The  pro- 
longed period  of  gestation  and  infancy  cultivates  father 
and  mother  love.  The  dependence  of  the  child  long 
continued  cultivates  the  child  in  love  and  obedience. 
The  capacity  for  brotherly  and  sisterly  affection  lies  dor- 
mant until  a  second  child  draws  it  out  in  sweetness  and 
power.  The  ideal  family  is  where  each  boy  has  a  sister 
and  a  brother,  and  each  girl  has  a  sister  and  a  brother, 
and  these  are  spared  to  each  other  in  the  same  family 
circle  to  maturity;  then  the  social  circle  is  apt  to  be  well 
rounded  and  complete. 

The  interest  society  has  in  the  family  is  there- 
fore very  great.  The  family  is  the  center  of  both 
heredity  and  environment,  and  radiates  many  social  ties 
and  propensities,  and  so  forms  the  basis  of  society.  It 
is  the  source  of  government  and  brotherhood,  of  obedi- 
ence to  law,  and  of  the  service  of  mankind.  The  forma- 
tion, perpetuation,  and  soundness  of  the  family  is  the 
fountain  of  life  and  power  in  society.  It  is  like  the 
heart  in  the  animal  organism.  Weaken  and  corrupt  the 
family,  and  heroes  can  not  save  the  state. 

The  history  of  the  family  is  claimed  by  some  to 
be  an  evolution  until  the  monogamous  family  is  reached. 


212   MODEEN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

The  earliest  family  was  the  horde,  differing  little  from 
the  herd  among  animals,  and  children  were  the  common 
property  and  charge;  then  there  was  the  simple  pairing 
for  a  short  time,  until  the  child  was  weaned;  then  came 
the  woman  having  several  husbands,  the  relation  of  chil- 
dren being  traced  through  the  mother,  while  the  father's 
side  was  ignored;  then  came  the  man  having  several 
wives,  the  relation  of  children  being  traced  through 
the  father,  while  the  mother's  side  was  ignored;  at 
length  monogamy  evolved.  While  there  may  be  slight 
evidence  of  this  evolution  among  some  tribes  of  the 
race,  there  is  much  evidence  that  when  the  first  dim 
ranks  of  mankind  emerged  from  the  mist  of  the  far- 
distant  past  the  monogamous  family  existed.  Such  a 
family  is  not  only  based  upon  the  elements  and  laws  of 
the  social  being  existing  to-day,  but  the  history  of  man- 
kind intimates  that  these  elements  existed  from  the  first. 
Society  has  a  vast  interest  in  the  formation  of 
the  marriage  relation,  as  have  the  parties  to  it.  Un- 
healthy and  unhappy  marriages  are  to  be  avoided,  but  it 
is  difficult  for  the  state  or  public  opinion  to  exercise  more 
than  advisory  power.  There  seem  to  be  three  elements 
that  should  be  present  in  entering  the  married  relation : 

1.  The  presence  of  exclusive  love. 

2.  Good  quality  in  physical,  mental,  and  moral  re- 
spects. 

The  parties  should  be  of  suitable  age,  of  good  health, 
and  good  character,  in  order  to  insure  a  healthy  heredity 
for  their  children. 

3.  Fair  prospects  of  support,  of  being  able  to  earn  a 
living  for  themselves  and  their  children. 

The  bodily  structure  of  the  social  being  determines 


SOCIOLOGY  213 

the  appetites  which  form  history  j  hunger  and  love  se- 
cure the  maintenance  and  continuance  of  the  race.  The 
great  words  of  sociology  in  this  respect  are  Production 
and  Eeproduction;  of  these  the  latter  is  the  greater. 
The  regulation  of  the  powerful  appetites,  hunger  and 
love,  is  the  achievement  of  the  social  organism,  resulting 
in  civilization. 

The  formation  and  support  of  families  are  the  essen- 
tials of  social  progress. 

There  are  many  foes  of  the  family.  Six  may  be 
rapidly  considered: 

1.  Wrong  views  of  entering  marriage — reluctance  to 
form  the  relation  at  one  extreme  and  heedlessness  in 
forming  it  at  the  other. 

2.  The  immoral  lessening  of  births.  There  may  be  moral 
reasons  for  many  small  families,  but  for  the  cultured 
and  rich  to  avoid  the  trouble  of  having  and  caring  for 
children  is  false  to  the  true  interests  of  society. 

3.  Wrong  views  of  divorce.  Divorce  laws  are  not  for 
the  relief  of  the  discontented,  but  for  the  safeguarding 
of  marriage.  Marriage  is  something  more  than  a  part- 
nership dissolvable  at  the  will  of  the  parties.  Society 
has  an  interest  in  its  permanence.  It  is  at  the  founda- 
tion of  the  family  and  the  state.  Divorce  should  be  a 
punishment  for  infidelity,  not  an  incentive  to  discontent. 

Jf..  Licentiousness  and  impurity.  Society  is  undermin- 
ing the  family  when  it  is  indifferent  to  the  social  evil  in 
any  of  its  stages. 

5.  Polygamy.  This  has  been  a  great  enemy  in  the 
past,  and  is  not  dead  yet. 

6.  Crowded  and  uncomfortable  homes j  fostering  poor 
health  and  immorality. 


214    MODEEN  PRACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

Bible  sociology  has  strong  and  clear  teaching  con- 
cerning the  family: 

1.  The  moral  law  guards  it  in  the  second,  fifth, 
sixth,  and  seventh  commandments. 

2.  The  civil  laws  against  impurity  and  sins  against 
the  family  were  very  severe,  equally  upon  the  man  and 
the  woman;  and  while  polygamy  and  divorce  were  per- 
mitted, they  were  frowned  upon. 

Woman  was  exalted  because  man  was  considered  not 
only  nor  even  first  as  a  citizen  or  a  soldier,  but  as  the 
head  of  a  family;  in  the  former  case  woman  is  an  in- 
ferior being — a  non-combatant,  as  in  Eome;  but  in  the 
latter  case  her  honor  is  guarded  as  the  equal  of  the  man 
in  the  home. 

3.  The  Covenant  includes  successive  generations. 
The  First  Sacrament  of  the  Covenant  with  Abraham  in- 
dicated purity  in  reproduction. 

4.  Christ's  teaching  bases  the  family  upon  God's  law 
in  nature,  pronounces  the  union  as  one  flesh,  forbids  its 
dissolution,  and  gives  divorce  as  a  punishment  for  infi- 
delity.    He  blesses  the  children  brought  to  Him. 

5.  The  family  is  throughout  treated  as  the  great  insti- 
tution in  which  God  cultivates  love,  the  spirit  which 
going  out  from  the  family  tends  to  make  the  whole  race 
one  family.  The  result  is  seen  in  Bible  lands.  Polyg- 
amy; and  impurity  are  outlawed.  Vice  is  driven  into 
the  back  streets.  Womanhood  and  childhood  are  hon- 
ored in  the  family.  Life  and  conduct  are  to  be  viewed 
in  the  light  of  eternity,  and  while  the  Bible  teaches 
there  is  no  marriage  in  heaven,  still  the  finer  feelings 
arising  in  marriage  and  flourishing  in  the  family  here 
doubtlessly  persist  through  death  and  flourish  in  the 


SOCIOLOGY  215 

life  beyond.  Licentiousness,  jealousy,  hate,  make  a  hell 
in  this  life  and  prepare  for  the  hell  beyond,  while  purity, 
trust,  and  love  make  a  heaven  in  this  life  and  prepare 
for  the  heaven  beyond. 

Society  has  great  interest  in  the  dwelling-places  of 
its  families.  The  first  dwelling  of  men  may  have  been 
a  cave,  but  it  did  not  long  remain  so.  The  constructive 
genius  of  man  soon  formed  a  tent  or  a  hut.  The  dwell- 
ing-place has  a  large  influence  on  character.  The  mov- 
able tent  awakens  and  fosters  a  wandering  disposition. 
The  hut  is  attached  to  the  land  and  awakens  local  at- 
tachment, and  tends  to  stability  of  character;  the  owner 
becomes  conservative  and  patriotic.  The  house  becomes 
more  than  a  shelter  from  the  weather;  it  gives  seclusion 
from  the  world,  it  gives  privacy  for  the  cultivation  and 
refinement  of  the  family.  Extremes  are  not  for  the  best 
interests  of  society;  the  tent,  the  one-roomed  cabin,  the 
crowded  tenement,  give  little  comfort  and  less  privacy, 
while  the  palace  fosters  enervating  luxury  and  selfish 
seclusion. 

Society  is  short-sighted  when  it  thinks  more  of  property 
than  of  purity.  There  is  a  minimum  standard  of  dwell- 
ing-place for  health  and  decency,  beyond  which  society 
should  not  allow  its  families  to  descend.  The  home  is 
the  combination  of  the  house  and  the  family.  The  in- 
terest of  society  is  to  have  the  best  possible  homes  in  the 
largest  possible  numbers.  More  social  problems  find 
their  essential  factors  running  back  to  the  home  than  to 
any  other  place — to  the  family  not  only,  but  to  the  dwell- 
ing-place of  the  family.  The  one-room  cabins  of  the 
negroes  in  the  South,  and  the  crowded  tenement  houses 
in  Northern  cities  are  bad  for  the  morals  of  their  in- 


216   MODEEN  PEAOTICAL  THEOLOGY 

mates,  are  the  shame  of  the  rich  owners,  and  a  perplex- 
ing problem  of  society. 

Bible  sociology  contemplated  a  separate  house  for 
every  Hebrew  family,  and  the  ownership  of  sufficient 
land  for  support.  The  land  belonged  to  God.  He  gave 
it  to  the  six  hundred  thousand  families,  about  twenty- 
five  acres  to  each  family,  but  not  in  absolute  fee  simple. 
Each  head  of  the  family  had  his  own  home;  he  might 
sell  it,  but  not  forever;  he  or  the  next  of  kin  might  re- 
deem it  at  any  time,  and  in  any  event  it  returned  to  his 
family  in  the  year  of  Jubilee.  The  only  exception  were 
the  Levites;  provision  was  made  for  their  living  and 
their  homes,  but  they  were  not  permitted  to  hold  real 
estate.  They  were  the  learned  class  in  the  nation  and 
liad  a  position  of  influence,  and  the  nation  was  guarded 
from  their  also  becoming  large  land  owners.  Lycurgus, 
Solon,  and  Numa,  with  all  their  wisdom,  never  so  checked 
the  grasp  which,  learning  and  property  combined,  might 
take  of  political  power. 

The  Hebrew  families  lived  in  villages  and  cities,  each 
in  their  own  house,  and  each  family  had  land  sufficient 
for  support.  Large  estates  could  not  be  legally  acquired, 
large  establishments  with  many  slaves  were  not  fostered. 
Slave-holding  and  poverty  were  alike  discouraged  by 
this  ordering. 

The  rules  for  the  construction  of  houses  and  for 
sanitation  were  wise  and  strict.  In  the  time  of  Christ, 
Palestine  was  a  densely  populated  land  ;  still,  each 
family,  even  in  cities,  had  its  own  house,  separate 
from  all  others.  In  the  laws  for  his  people,  God  did 
not  overlook  such  an  important  matter  as  the  house  of  a 
family. 


SOCIOLOGY  217 

2.  The  Institution  of  Industry  follows  that  of  the 
family,  and  is  closely  allied  to  it. 

The  dawning  intelligence  of  a  child  first  recognizes  the 
love  of  father  and  mother;  then  that  they  are  workers, 
and  soon  the  child  begins  to  work.  Housekeeping  is 
the  firet  industry,  providing  and  then  preparing  food  and 
clothing,  then  the  improving  and  adorning  the  house 
itself.  The  husband  is  the  houseband  (head),  the  wife 
is  the  weaver.  Then  a  particular  family  having  taste 
and  skill,  cultivated  and  transmitted  by  heredity  and 
training,  prepares  certain  things  better  and  faster  than 
the  neighboring  family,  whose  particular  taste  and  skill 
excel  upon  some  other  article.  Accumulation  and  ex- 
change follows.  Specialization  increases,  guilds  of  certain 
classes  of  manufacturers  arise.  Then  others  withdraw 
from  making  things  and  devote  themselves  to  exchang- 
ing things,  and  the  Industrial  Institution  becomes  a 
vast  and  complicated  feature  of  society.  Man's  ad- 
vance in  civilization  has  depended  largely  upon  his  pos- 
session of  three  simple  things,  with  which  we  are  very 
familiar:  language,  fire,  and  tools.  By  the  use  of  lan- 
guage he  is  able  to  keep  the  discoveries  of  his  ancestry 
and  to  enter  upon  intelligent  associated  action,  and  by 
fire  and  tools  he  grasps  the  powers  of  the  universe.  Man 
differs  from  the  highest  animals  in  these  three  respects. 

Man  is  the  only  being  who  has  ability  to  make  and 
use  tools.  It  is  claimed  that  some  animals  use  clubs  and 
throw  things,  but  no  animal  makes  tools.  Possibly 
man's  first  tool  was  a  club  for  defense  or  attack.  Pos- 
sibly he  first  discovered  fire  by  throwing  one  stone  upon 
another.  But  he  soon  left  the  animal  stage  by  making- 
fire  and  tools  at  will.    From  tools  for  defense  and  attack. 


21S   MODEEN  PRACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

man  quickly  advanced  to  tools  for  construction,  the  club 
becoming  a  hammer,  and  then  to  tools  for  cultivating  the 
soil,  and  for  preparing  food  and  clothing.  By  tools  man 
works  great  changes  upon  and  largely  triumphs  over  his 
environment  5  from  being  its  victim  he  becomes  its  mas- 
ter. He  builds  houses  and  cities,  he  tunnels  mountains, 
crosses  oceans,  and  speaks  his  messages  through  the 
skies  from  continent  to  continent. 

In  modern  times  a  great  change  has  come  about  in 
the  matter  of  tools.  Up  to  the  beginning  of  the  last  cen- 
tury tools  were  comparatively  simple;  they  were  mainly 
moved  by  man's  own  muscles,  and  they  were  largely 
used  in  his  own  home.  Manufacturing  was  largely  a 
home  industry.  The  worker  was  generally  the  owner  of 
his  tools,  and  the  laws  of  society  protected  him  in  the 
possession  of  his  tools;  they  were  his  means  of  gaining 
his  livelihood.  But  in  the  last  century  tools  have  been 
wonderfully  developed,  until  now  they  are  complex  and 
expensive;  they  are  moved  mainly  by  steam-power,  and 
they  are  located  near  the  steam-power  in  factories.  A 
railroad  and  a  steamship  are  only  great  tools.  Two  re- 
sults have  followed: 

1.  The  workman  is  taken  from  his  house  to  reach  his 
tools.  There  are  advantages  and  disadvantages  in  this: 
the  sordidness  of  manufacturing  and  trading  is  taken 
from  the  house,  but  on  the  other  hand  the  parents  are 
often\aken  away  from  the  care  of  their  children  when 
most  needed. 

2.  The  workman  is  no  longer  the  owner  of,  nor  has  he 
any  control  over,  his  tools.  The  factory  closes  its  doors 
at  the  will  of  its  owners,  and  the  workmen  are  deprived 
of  their  means  of  gaining  a  livelihood.    '  ^  Labor  strikes ' ' 


SOCIOLOGY  219 

and  factory  ^^ shut-outs"  are  not  merely  a  conflict  be- 
tween labor  and  capital;  the  conflict  is  really  between 
workers  and  tool  owners,  between  workers  and  those 
who  own  the  only  means  these  workers  have  of  securing 
their  livlihood.  It  is  said  more  wealth  has  been  accumu- 
lated during  the  last  century  than  during  all  the  cen- 
turies preceding.  Much  of  this  accumulated  wealth  is 
in  tools.  A  railroad,  a  steamship,  a  factory,  is  a  growth. 
The  owner  of  the  factory  has  from  its  profits,  or  the 
credit  secured  by  them,  enlarged  his  factory  and  put 
in  more  machines,  and  has  become  rich. 

There  are  three  elements  within  the  development 
of  a  factory:  (1)  the  capital  invested  in  the  plant,  (2) 
the  labor  that  directs  the  machinery,  and  (3)  the  busi- 
ness management  that  provides  the  materials,  directs 
the  process  of  changing  these  into  articles  of  use,  and 
secures  the  profitable  disposal  of  these  articles. 

There  are  two  forces  without:  (1)  other  factories 
and  (2)  the  consumers. 

All  these  elements  and  forces  are  within  the  sphere  of 
the  general  society.  It  is  evident  the  business  manage- 
ment is  the  larger  element  of  success;  it  must  so  direct 
the  factory  in  competition  with  other  factories  that  con- 
sumers have  their  demands  supplied  at  a  good  profit. 
The  business  management  has  generally  a  large  share  in 
the  ownership  of  the  capital,  and  derives  its  rewards 
from  salaries  and  dividends;  it  has  in  its  hand  the  pur- 
chase of  raw  materials,  the  giving  wages  to  labor,  and 
the  sale  of  the  manufactured  article.  If  it  is  governed 
entirely  by  egoism,  it  will  buy  labor  as  it  buys  raw 
material,  in  the  cheapest  market,  and  get  the  most 
possible  out  of  it.     In  proportion  as  it  is  governed  by 


220    MODEEN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

altruism  it  will  treat  labor  as  manhood,  and  will  seek  to 
give  justice  in  wages  and  hours  of  work. 

The  accumulation  of  the  vast  fortunes  of  our  day 
seems  to  indicate  that  the  business  management  has 
taken  to  itself  rather  more  than  its  just  proportion  of  the 
profits.  How  the  profits  shall  be  distributed,  what  is 
just  wages  for  labor,  what  is  just  interest  for  capital,  and 
what  is  just  reward  for  business  management,  is  a  diffi- 
cult problem,  especially  as  often  losses  take  the  place  of 
profits.  It  is  obvious,  however,  that  the  price  of  labor 
should  not  be  measured  by  the  lowest  cost  of  living  of 
the  laborer,  but  by  the  worth  of  the  labor  to  the 
employer.  The  competitive  principle  of  egoism  needs 
the  correction  of  the  justice  principle  of  altruism. 

The  highest  interest  of  society  in  industrial  pur- 
suits is  not  the  production  of  wealth,  but  the  cultivation 
of  manhood  and  womanhood.  "Wealth  has  great  worth, 
but  its  principal  use  is  a  means  to  cultivate  manhood. 
Manhood  is  the  suj^reme  product  of  our  factories,  mines, 
and  railroads.  It  is  the  interest  of  society  to  have  the 
laborer's  character  and  condition  constantly  improved. 
By  the  census  of  1900  there  were  more  than  18,000,000 
wage-earners  in  the  United  States.  As  these  were  mostly 
adults,  and  the  large  majority  men,  they  form  a  large 
proportion  of  our  population,  the  total  of  which  was,  in 
1900,  76,000,000.  These  are  not  salaried  men,  nor  pro- 
prietors, nor  professional,  nor  business  men,  but  those 
employed,  and  paid  wages. 

The  highest  interest  of  capital  is  not  the  production 
of  wealth,  but  of  manhood.  The  wage-earner's  intelli- 
gence, skill,  and  fidelity  are  the  elements  of  success  in 
working  the  factory,  the  mine,  or  the  railroad.     Bar- 


SOCIOLOGY  221 

barians,  however  many  and  strong,  could  not  produce  or 
care  for  our  wealth.  Enlightened  egoism  becomes  just 
altruism.  The  Golden  Eule  is  the  way  to  attain  and 
keep  civilization.  Society  and  capital  should  foster  con- 
ditions improving  the  manhood  of  wage-earners. 

The  great  steel  corporation  recently  offered  to  all  its 
business  managers  and  wage-earners  a  share  in  its  capital 
stock,  deeming  rightly  that  it  is  good  business  for  capital 
to  cultivate  the  manhood  of  its  employees  by  giving 
them  a  share  in  its  profits. 

The  development  of  tools,  with  its  vast  increase 
of  wealth,  is  the  basis  of  the  great  combinations  of  capi- 
tal and  labor  which  are  the  characteristics  of  the  indus- 
trial institution  of  to-day. 

1.  Combination  of  icealth  means  organized  system,  and 
this  means  the  greatest  economy,  which  is  the  line  of 
least  resistance  in  industrial  movement.  Add  to  this 
the  enormous  power  to  crush  out  competition  in  any 
particular  field  of  industry,  and  the  advantage  of  the 
combination  becomes  aj)parent. 

Society,  by  its  public  opinion  and  its  laws,  fosters  the 
growth  of  wealth.  It  creates  corporations  with  limited 
liabilities  of  shareholders,  frequently  gives  such  corpo- 
rations the  right  of  eminent  domain  and  public  fran- 
chises, and  the  right  to  acquire  patent-rights  and  trade- 
marks, and  sets  little  or  no  limit  to  the  exercise  of  these 
vast  powers,  or  to  the  combination  of  various  corpora- 
tions in  one  large,  all-embracing  one. 

2.  Combination  of  labor  forms  a  labor  union  composed, 
as  far  as  possible,  of  all  the  labor  of  a  particular  kind, 
and  seeks  to  negotiate  with  the  employers  for  the  price 
to  be  paid  for  labor  and  for  the  time  of  labor.     The 


222    MODEEN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

unions  have  other  features  of  brotherhood  and  helpful- 
ness, but  their  main  object  is  to  present  for  wages,  not 
individuals  in  competition  with  each  other,  but  a  com- 
bination of  all  the  labor  obtainable. 

Society,  by  its  public  opinion  and  its  laws,  fosters  the 
rights  of  labor.  The  greed  of  capital  and  the  need  of 
parents  had  forced  children  into  premature  labor,  had 
made  long  days  of  labor  for  adults  and  children,  and 
had  been  careless  of  health  or  life  in  mills  or  mines; 
and  so  laws  of  sanitation  and  safety,  laws  of  hours 
of  labor,  and  laws  forbidding  child  labor  have  been 
enacted. 

Society  is  thus  seen  to  be  a  party  in  interest  in  these 
great  combinations  both  of  capital  and  labor;  both  are 
within  her  sphere.  Business  can  not  be  carried  on 
simply  as  the  owner  pleases.  Society  has  an  interest  in 
the  matter.  Labor  can  combine,  but  can  not  force  ite 
members,  non-members,  nor  its  employers;  it  must  nego- 
tiate. Society  has  an  interest  in  the  matter.  The  limit 
of  combination  is  also  set  by  the  interest  not  of  the  com- 
bination, but  of  society.  There  must  still  be  room  for 
healthy  competition,  and  an  incentive  of  reward  for  gifted 
individuals  to  take  the  initiative  in  industrial  enterprise. 

Wealth  is  increasing  rapidly.  Society  is  interested  to 
see  that  while  its  rich  members  are  growing  richer,  that 
greater  numbers  are  becoming  rich,  and  the  wage-earn- 
ers are  better  off  than  ever  before  and  are  still  advanc- 
ing, and  that  in  all  homes  the  results  of  tools  and  the 
tools  themselves  bring  comfort  and  the  leisure  for  cul- 
ture. 

Serving  is  a  means  to  success.  Oftentimes  the 
motive  stirring  enterprise  is  not  to  serve,  but  to  gain  the 


SOCIOLOGY  223 

rewards  of  service.  This  motive  oftentimes  conflicts 
with  the  service;  it  makes  the  charges  for  service  so 
high  as  to  check  the  service  and  defeat  itself. 

It  is  evident  that  a  successful  factory  or  railroad  gains 
its  wealth  by  serving  society.  The  central  part  of  our 
country  has  become  wealthy  because  of  the  fertility  of 
the  soil,  the  industry  of  the  settlers,  and  the  enterprise 
of  the  great  railroads;  these  latter  serve  not  only  that 
part,  but  our  whole  country  and  the  world.  A  store- 
keeper serves  a  community  by  bringing  the  products  of 
all  climes  to  its  doors. 

It  is  possible,  and  it  is  a  part  of  Dynamic  Sociology,  for 
the  Industrial  Institution  to  become  so  intelligent  and 
enterprising  that  its  motive  shall  be  to  serve;  then  mo- 
tive and  action  agreeing,  the  service  will  be  more  com- 
plete and  the  success  even  greater.  The  selfish  motive 
makes  competition  cruel,  the  serving  motive  would 
make  competition  beneficient.  The  tendency  in  our 
time  is  for  vast  wealth  to  bestow  large  gifts  upon 
society;  this  is  commendable  public  spirit,  the  spirit 
of  service.  A  still  better  spirit  is  to  gain  wealth  and 
use  it  in  the  spirit  of  service,  and  that  seems  a  growing 
spirit. 

Wealth  made  by  crushing  competition,  and  by  extor- 
tion from  the  needy,  and  by  depriving  labor  of  just  dues, 
can  not  compensate  society  for  the  injury  done  in  its 
accumulation  by  any  gift,  however  large.  An  aristoc- 
racy of  wealth,  or  of  anything  else  bavSed  upon  only  two  of 
the  primary  classes,  is  a  social  enormity;  to  be  whole- 
some and  beautiful  it  must  combine  the  three:  the  high 
vitality,  high  ability,  and  especially  the  high  social 
class — the  class  that  serves  society. 


224   MODERN  PRACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

Of  the  good  citizen  it  has  been  well  said: 

**  Talents  and  wealth  to  him  were  but  a  trust 
To  lift  his  hapless  brother  from  the  dust." 

An  aristocracy  of  wealth  that  serves  society  in  its  get- 
ting and  its  nsing  may  not  have  so  much  wealth,  but  it  will 
have  much  greater  honor  and  far  more  beneficent  power. 

Bible  sociology  has  much  to  teach  concerning  the 
industrial  institution  and  the  production  and  distribu- 
tion of  wealth.  Industry  is  held  in  honor,  enterprise  is 
encouraged,  and  the  spirit  of  service  is  to  rule.  It  cul- 
minates in  the  teaching  of  Christ,  and  may  be  called  the 
Sociology  of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  as  proclaimed  by 
the  King  Himself.  His  comprehensive  teaching  about 
wealth  regards  it  not  alone  by  itself,  but  in  its  relation 
to  manhood.  If  it  hinders  the  building  of  a  good  char- 
acter, it  is  condemned. 

The  difficulty  of  rich  men  entering  heaven  was  not  in 
that  it  was  wrong  to  be  rich,  but  because  of  the  absorb- 
ing love  and  cares  of  riches  hindering  them  from  choos- 
ing first  the  Kingdom  of  God. 

There  are  four  principles  running  through  the 
teaching  of  Christ  about  wealth: 

1.  The  relativity  of  values.  There  is  something  bet- 
ter than  material  values.  The  soul  is  worth  more  than 
wealth. 

2.  ^Vealth  is  not  our  own  ;  it  belongs  to  God.  As 
between  man  and  man  there  is  ownership,  but  with  re- 
gard to  God  we  are  merely  stewards.  He  is  the  sole 
owner.  In  our  gaining  and  using  wealth  we  are  to  exer- 
cise our  stewardship  in  a  way  to  please  the  owner — we 
are  acting  for  Him. 


SOCIOLOGY  225 

3.  The  principle  of  love  was  not  to  be  shut  out  of 
business,  but  was  to  rule  there  as  everywhere.  This  is 
not  the  charity  that  gives,  but  the  love  that  is  just  and 
fair;  that  seeks  the  good  of  others  as  one  seeks  his  own 
in  emxiloying  labor,  in  all  matters  of  trade,  and  generally 
in  the  service  of  mankind.  This  secures  a  mutual  advan- 
tage as  nearly  equal  as  possible  in  every  business  trans- 
action. This  makes  business  for  ^^  profit  only  "  to  be  in 
the  highest  degree  immoral. 

4.  In  His  conduct  Christ  made  no  distinction  between 
the  rich  and  the  poor — He  treated  all  alike.  He  had 
relations  of  helpfulness  and  friendship  with  the  rich;  He 
chose  some  of  His  disciples  from  the  rich,  and  He  had 
equal  consideration  for  the  poor.  He  attached  no  moral 
quality  to  the  condition  of  riches  or  poverty,  but  was 
ever  attentive  to  the  needs  of  manhood. 

The  Church  should  follow  Christ's  example:  slight 
neither  the  rich  nor  the  poor.  It  should  have  sympathy 
with  the  laboring  man,  not  as  a  partisan,  but  as  an  intelli- 
gent friend. 

3.  The  Institution  of  Culture  in  Society  includes  the 
8c1iool  and  the  Church.  The  dawning  intelligence  of  the 
child  in  the  home  recognizes  not  only  the  love  of  father 
and  mother,  and  the  fact  that  they  are  workers;  it  is 
itself  developed  through  their  teaching,  and  brings  its 
many  questions  to  them  for  their  answers.  While  not 
conscious  of  it  at  the  time,  one  of  the  great  influences 
upon  the  child  is  the  kind  of  language  used  in  the  home 
and  the  manners  and  customs  prevailing  there;  these  are 
the  atmosphere  of  culture  in  which  the  child  lives.  In 
many  homes,  also,  the  child  is  impressed  by  the  family 
kneeling  and  speaking  to  some  One  unseen,  and  fre- 


226    MODEEN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

quently  the  mother  teaches  her  child  to  pray  to  God,  the 
heavenly  Father.  The  influence  of  religious  observances 
in  the  family  makes  a  great  impression  upon  the  forming 
character  of  the  child.  Soon  this  dawning  culture  of  the 
home  is  enlarged  as  the  child  is  taken  with  its  parents 
to  the  church,  and  with  large  numbers  engages  in  the 
public  worship  of  God.  Soon,  also,  the  child  goes  with 
other  children  to  the  neighborhood  school,  and  the  cul- 
ture of  the  home  is  enlarged  by  the  culture  of  the  teacher 
and  of  the  many  companion  scholars. 

These  two  institutions  of  culture,  the  school  and  the 
church,  have  already  been  largely  treated  in  former 
parts  of  this  course.  To  sum  up  here  in  a  few  words: 
Sociology  claims,  in  regard  to  the  school,  that  each  mem- 
ber of  society  should  have  that  development  of  the 
physical,  mental,  moral,  and  spiritual  powers  necessary 
to  the  enjoyment  of  the  privileges  and  to  the  fulfilment 
of  the  duties  of  the  social  organization. 

In  regard  to  the  Church,  sociology  claims  (1)  that 
religion  should  not  fix  its  attention  upon  the  future  life 
so  intently  that  it  neglects  the  present  life,  but  that  it 
should  be  keenly  alive  to  all  the  interests  of  society;  (2) 
that  it  should  not  be  so  devoted  to  church  observances 
that  it  neglects  social  duties;  (3)  that  it  should  not 
strive  so  earnestly  for  individual  salvation  that  it 
neglects  social  salvation;  (4)  that  the  principles  of 
righteousness  in  the  sight  of  God  should  be  applied  to 
all  the  relations  of  this  life,  and  (5)  that  the  service  of 
God  should  embrace  man' s  dealings  with  his  fellow  men. 
Bible  sociology  confirms  these  claims  of  sociology;  it 
teaches  that  religious  emotion  and  sentiments  of  charity, 
propriety;  and  self-denial  can  not  atone  for  the  absence 


SOCIOLOGY  227 

of  justice  in  dealings  and  of  high  regard  for  the  rights  of 
others. 

The  Institution  of  Control  includes  Town,  State, 
and  National  Government.  It  includes,  earlier  than  any- 
other  control/  that  of  the  Family.  The  dawning  intel- 
ligence of  the  child  soon  recognizes  that  it  is  not  alto- 
gether its  own  master,  that  there  is  control  of  parental 
authority;  learning  obedience  to  this  authority,  it  dis- 
covers that  its  aim  is  not  to  injure  but  to  benefit  the 
individual  child.  Soon  the  child  sees  indications  that 
the  family  itself  is  tinder  some  kind  of  control.  Courts 
are  spoken  of  at  the  family  table,  and  laws,  and  Govern- 
ors, and  Presidents,  and  law-makers,  and  elections.  The 
obedience  of  the  child  to  family  authority  is  taught,  as 
years  go  on  the  duty  of  obedience  to  other  authority, 
and  he  discovers  that  here,  too,  its  aim  is  not  to  injure 
but  to  benefit  the  individual  family  and  all  its  individual 
members.  The  obedient,  cultured  child  thus  becomes 
the  intelligent,  loyal  citizen.  The  ideal  of  the  state  is 
the  enlarged  family,  an  order  and  control  having  the 
welfare  of  its  members  as  its  aim.  The  first  step  out  of 
barbarism  is  the  establishment  of  some  kind  of  govern- 
ment strong  enough  to  preserve  peace  and  order  within, 
and  to  resist  successfully  all  attack  from  without.  This 
accomplished,  there  must  develop  a  system  of  individual 
liberty  within  clearly  marked  limits,  and  the  state  must 
refrain  from  crossing  these  limits  itself,  and  must  pre- 
vent any  of  its  members  crossing  them. 

The  state  is  mankind  politically  organized  for  creat- 
ing and  perfecting  two  things:  government,  and  liberty 
within  that  government.  Each,  having  its  proper  field 
of  activity  well  defined  and  guarded^  matches  with  the 


228        MODERlsr  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

other  to  form  a  well-regulated  and  established  state. 
All  subsequent  history  of  that  state  or  nation  is  the  con- 
tinually changing  line  of  demarkation  between  govern- 
ment and  liberty,  according  as  public  opinion  and 
circumstances  dictate.  When  danger  assails  from  with- 
out, individual  liberty  sacrifices  itself  to  the  government 
that  the  nation  may  still  live.  When  peace  prevails, 
the  government  should  foster  the  individual  initiative 
to  the  highest  degree  within  the  limits  of  public  well- 
being.  Hegel  asserts  that  '  ^  Morality  is  the  ultimate  end 
for  which  the  state  exists. ' '  The  state  is  to  foster  the 
welfare  of  its  citizens.  If  the  government  crushes  liberty, 
one  of  three  things  usually  happens:  Either  the  class 
whose  liberty  is  crushed  tamely  submits — then  the  moral 
wrong  weakens  and  curses  the  state;  or  the  class  resists 
forcibly,  and,  if  successful,  it  overthrows  or  changes  the 
government;  or  there  is  an  attempt  to  arouse  the  public 
opinion  or  social  conscience  to  work  the  needed  change 
and  secure  healthful  liberty  by  peaceful  means.  The 
state,  or  politically  organized  society,  develops  the  spirit 
of  nationality  existing  among  people  knit  together  by 
common  origin,  speech,  land,  history,  and  custom.  It 
is  to  be  distinguished  from  the  particular  government 
which  is  its  creature,  and  may  be  changed;  it  is  success- 
ful as  government  and  liberty  flourish  together. 

The  ideal  of  sociology  with  reference  to  the  state  is 
that  t!ie  control  of  government  should  be  impartial  to  all 
its  citizens;  that  there  should  be  no  privileged  or  fostered 
classes,  but  that  all  the  citizens  should  be  encouraged  to 
their  free  and  fullest  development;  and  that  the  officers 
of  the  government  should  seek  only  the  public  good. 
When  public  opinion  permits  the  private  interests  of  any 


SOCIOLOGY  229 

class  to  be  preferred  to  the  collective  good,  it  has  lost 
this  sociological  ideal,  and  degeneracy  of  the  nation 
has  begun. 

The  social  consciousness  has  much  influence  upon 
government;  it  is  that  popular  opinion,  or  popular  con- 
science and  will,  which  is  made  up  of  the  combination 
and  modification  of  individual  ideals  and  feelings.  The 
social  consciousness  is  largely  dormant  in  the  function  of 
Propagation,  Production,  and  Distribution,  but  it  should 
not  be;  it  should  have  a  keen  and  intelligent  interest  in 
the  formation  of  the  Family  and  the  Industrial  Institution. 
It  has  a  tendency,  however,  to  grow  active  in  Education 
and  Religion,  and  a  still  greater  tendency  to  be  active  in 
the  Government — its  sense  of  evils  here  is  more  keen,  and 
its  ideals  and  aims  are  more  clear.  It  has  much  to  do 
not  only  with  the  formation  of  laws,  but  with  their  en- 
forcement; with  the  adoption  of  policies  and  the  election 
of  officers  not  only,  but  with  the  conduct  of  officers  and 
the  enforcing  of  i)olicies.  In  arousing  and  directing 
social  consciousness  means  of  communication  are  needed 
that  many  individuals  may  be  reached,  and  leaders  of 
thought  and  ideals  are  as  greatly  needed  to  instruct  and 
sway  the  many  by  speech  or  printed  page. 

Such  leaders  should  be  specialists  in  knowledge,  sym- 
pathetic with  social  conditions,  public  spirited  in  serv- 
ing the  people,  and  men  of  force.  The  good  preacher, 
while  not  in  any  sense  a  politician,  should  be  a  leader  of 
popular  opinion  for  the  highest  good  of  the  state;  in 
doing  this  he  is  following  the  example  of  the  prophets 
of  old. 

There  are  three  important  laws  of  Psychology 
which  govern  the  social  consciousness  or  public  opinion: 


230   MODEEN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

1.  Social  force  is  a  fixed  quantity.  Much  may  be  dor- 
mant) but  still  it  is  not  unlimited.  Great  popular  in- 
terest awakened  in  one  direction  withdraws  some  interest 
from  other  lines.  A  Presidential  campaign  withdraws 
interest  from  trade,  and  is  a  poor  time  for  a  revival  of 
religion. 

2.  Social  force  changes.  It  is  difficult  to  concentrate 
social  attention  and  interest  in  an  intense  degree  upon 
any  one  subject  for  a  great  length  of  time.  This  insures 
against  extravagant  tendencies  becoming  permanent, 
and  so  against  disproportionate  development.  Social 
consciousness  aroused  expresses  itself  in  changing  laws 
and  customs,  and  then  it  is  apt  to  relapse  into  uncon- 
sciousness, and  the  customs  and  laws  tend  to  drift  back 
to  the  former  condition.  Eternal  vigilance  is  the  price 
of  liberty  and  of  all  advance. 

3.  Social  improvement  in  government,  as  elsewhere, 
is  in  the  nature  of  an  evolution  rather  than  a  revolu- 
tion; is  rarely  rapid,  requiring  much  time,  as  all  growth 
does,  and  is  generally  brought  about  by  the  cooperation 
of  many  combining  forces,  among  which  religion  can  not 
be  overestimated. 

Bible  Sociology  with  reference  to  the  institution  of 
control  is  not  only  prominent  in  the  history  of  the  Jewish 
nation,  but  especially  in  the  teaching  of  the  Prophets,  in 
the  ;Q^roclamation  of  the  laws  of  the  Kingdom  by  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  in  the  culture  of  the  Christian 
life  by  the  teaching  of  the  apostles.  The  two  principles 
— one  of  individual  liberty  and  responsibility,  the  other 
of  brotherhood  or  associated  life  under  the  rule  of  the 
Great  King — together  form  the  life  of  the  Christian 
state. 


SOCIOLOGY  231 

The  term  Social  Pathology  expresses  the  truth 
that  certain  opposite  conditions  in  society  resemble 
health  and  disease  in  an  organism.  The  evils  resem- 
bling disease  are  not  to  be  ignored,  nor  quarreled  with, 
nor  even  attended  to  exclusively,  but  their  causes  are  to 
be  carefully  sought  out  and  wise  efforts  made  to  re- 
move them.  Dynamic  Sociology,  as  a  wise  physi- 
cian, instead  of  trying  to  cure  symptoms,  strives  to 
remove  their  cause  ;  and  it  has  taken  a  long  time  to 
learn  the  lesson.  Morbid  conditions  arise  frequently 
from  hidden  and  complex  causes,  and  much  patient 
investigation  is  required;  and  a  thorough  cure  is  more 
important  than  the  immediate  relief  of  present  dis- 
tress. 

The  building  up  of  the  general  system  in  strong  health 
is  generally  the  best  way  to  throw  off  any  j)articular 
disease. 

The  Social  Organism  is  constantly  trying  to  heal 
itself,  and  charities,  asylu^is,  hospitals,  and  reforma- 
tories abound;  but  the  real  amelioration  is  such  intelli- 
gent and  brotherly  care  that  social  health  abounds,  and 
the  need  of  such  agencies  is  reduced.  It  is  not  the  chief 
duty  of  society  to  care  for  the  disease  of  any  one  class, 
but  for  the  health  of  the  whole.  The  chief  social  ques- 
tion is  not  how  can  the  lot  of  any  one  class  be  improved, 
but  what  is  the  best  life  the  human  race  can  attain. 
This  chief  duty  attained  secures  also  the  wisest  and  best 
help  for  the  particular  organ  diseased.  The  social  physi- 
cian, as  well  as  the  bodily  physician,  has  discovered  that 
preventative  measures  are  better  than  curative;  that 
maintenance  of  health  is  his  great  aim  rather  than  curing 
disease;  that  removing  the  cause  of  a  particular  disease 


232        MODEEIsr  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

is  not  enough;  that  cause  must  not  be  permitted  to  arise 
again. 

There  are  two  prominent  difficulties  in  Social 
Pathology: 

1.  The  absence  of  any  fixed  standard  of  social  health. 
It  is  difficult  to  say  in  many  cases  whether  a  condition  is 
normal  or  abnormal.  All  sociologists  will  agree  that 
wild  speculation  is  abnormal,  but  will  vary  in  their 
views  as  to  normal  speculation.  So  with  theaters;  the 
line  between  the  good  and  the  bad  varies.  But  all  will 
agree  that  police  corruption  and  unsanitary  conditions, 
wherever  or  in  whatever  degree  they  are  found,  are  bad. 

2.  The  difficulty  of  striking  a  just  balance  between  the 
opposite  truths  that  abnormal  individuals  produce  ab- 
normal social  conditions,  and  that  abnormal  social  con- 
ditions produce  abnormal  individuals.  The  minister 
should  be  a  wise  social  physician  sensitive  to  the  needs 
of  his  community  and  sympathetic,  still  clear-eyed  to 
look  for  causes,  and  when  they  are  found,  with  cool 
nerve  and  brave  heart  to  cut  to  the  quick,  kindly  and 
firmly,  to  remove  them. 

The  most  obvious  social  diseases  or  abnormal 
social  conditions  are  these  four: 

1.  Foverty.  The  existence  of  a  class  without  the  means 
of  approaching  a  complete  life. 

2.  Vice.  A  class  injuring  itself  directly,  and  others 
indirectly,  by  the  habitual  violation  of  some  law,  phys- 
ical, mental,  or  moral. 

3.  Criine.  A  class  injuring  society  directly  by  the 
violation  of  social  and  state  laws. 

^.  Inactivity.  A  class  withholding  from  society  any 
service,  and  living  upon  the  social  body  as  parasites. 


SOCIOLOGY  233 

There  are  three  obvious  classes  of  socially  diseased 
or  abnormal  individuals:  (1)  Dependents,  (2)  Delin- 
quents, and  (3)  Deficients. 

1.  The  great  number  of  Dependents  are  in  the  condi- 
tion of  poverty. 

2.  The  great  number  of  Delinquents  are  in  the  condi- 
tion of  vice  and  crime. 

3.  The  great  number  of  Deficients  are  in  the  condition 
of  social  inactivity,  either  from  physical  or  mental  dis- 
ability, or  from  selfish  idleness. 

Sociology  regards  these  abnormal  classes  and  condi- 
tions not  in  themselves  alone,  but  as  diseases  affecting 
the  whole  body  of  society,  reducing  general  health,  pro- 
ducing general  distress,  and  threatening  general  disaster. 
As  these  classes  and  conditions  have  a  tendency  to  grow, 
society  must  be  very  careful  not  to  foster  that  growth, 
but  should  treat  them  directly  in  a  way  to  check  it  and 
diminish  it.  As  these  classes  and  conditions  arise  from 
causes,  society  must  carefully  strive  to  discover  these 
causes  and  earnestly  endeavor  to  remove  them.  To 
secure  health  is  the  aim,  and  bad  conditions  and  disease 
germs  are  to  be  discovered  and  removed.  In  this  effort 
society  must  pay  all  due  attention  both  to  the  abnormal 
condition  and  to  the  abnormal  individual. 

Poverty  is  the  condition  in  which  the  total  earnings 
of  the  individual  or  family  are  insufficient  to  obtain  the 
minimum  necessaries  of  physical  health.  The  extent  of 
poverty  varies  in  different  lands;  in  some  cities  of  the 
Old  World  one-third  of  the  population  belong  to  the  desti- 
tute class,  while  in  some  regions  of  our  New  World  there 
is  no  such  class.  Still  in  our  own  country,  as  a  whole, 
it  is  estimated  the  average  shortening  of  life  from  poverty 


234   MODERN  PRACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

is  at  least  ten  years,  and  that  of  those  who  would  be  re- 
jected from  the  army  as  not  being  ^^able-bodied,"  at 
least  one-third  are  thus  deficient  from  insufficient  nour- 
ishment in  childhood  or  in  some  period  of  their  lives. 
The  two  main  causes  of  poverty  are: 

1.  EcoTKyniic  conditions,  resulting  in  low  wages  and 
infrequent  employment,  and  in  high  rents  and  high  cost 
of  living. 

2.  Defective  individual  character — ^mainly  inefficiency 
and  intemperance. 

The  two  main  causes  frequently  combine,  as  when 
employers  in  bad  times  have  to  reduce  their  force  of  wage- 
earners  they  generally  drop,  first,  the  intemperate  j  then 
the  indifferent,  neglectful,  and  lazy  workmen;  then  the 
good  single  men;  and,  at  last,  the  sober,  industrious  man 
of  family.  The  first  two  ranks,  being  thrown  out  of 
employment,  drop  into  poverty. 

The  aim  of  society  is,  first,  the  removal  of  the  causes: 
in  economic  conditions,  in  guarding  against  business  de- 
pression, and  cultivating  public  opinion  demanding 
justice  in  work  and  wages;  in  individual  character,  stim- 
ulating sobriety  and  industry  and  skill,  self-respecting 
manhood. 

The  second  aim  of  society  is  so  to  treat  the  condition 
of  poverty  that  it  shall  not  result  in  pauperism.  Justice 
in  work  and  wages  and  growing  manhood  will  prevent 
the  growth  of  poverty,  and  the  new  charity,  ^ '  not  so 
much  alms  as  a  friend,"  will  lift  out  of  poverty — at  any 
rate,  prevent  sinking  down  into  pauperism.  Some  of  the 
well-intentioned  efforts  to  help  the  poor  by  Church  and 
state  have  fostered  poverty  and  increased  a  pauper  class. 
Good  intentions  will  not  prevent  serious  results  flowing 


SOCIOLOGY  235 

from  injudicious  action;  often  the  wise  have  to  counteract 
the  efforts  of  the  good. 

The  most  visible  features  of  poverty  prevail  in  the 
congested  tenement  districts  of  large  cities.  The  under- 
paid, underfed,  underclothed,  and  underhoused  mass 
of  poverty  seems  hopeless  in  its  misery,  and  constantly 
promotes  pauperism.  Frequently  large  numbers  of  peo- 
ple live  in  single  rooms  where  a  rich  man  would  hardly 
keep  his  dogs,  and  yet  the  occui)ants  have  to  pay  rent 
which  makes  slums  profitable  property.  Many  ame- 
liorating agencies  are  at  work — churches,  settlements, 
charities,  and  philanthropic  societies — making  better 
homes  and  stimulating  manhood.  Means  of  transit 
from  crowded  centers  to  suburbs,  new  business  ven- 
tures, tend  to  relieve  the  congestion,  tho  only  to  a 
slight  degree,  ^ew  Zealand  undertakes  to  withdraw 
people  from  the  congested  centers,  and  to  colonize  them 
in  agricultural  communities,  lending  them  money  to  buy 
the  land,  build  houses,  and  make  a  start  toward 
productiveness,  and  providing  each  colony  a  competent 
leader  to  teach  and  direct  in  the  new  life. 

The  Salvation  Army,  besides  working  among  the  poor, 
has  also  this  among  its  plans.  The  state,  responding  to 
public  opinion,  legislates  for  better  tenement-houses,  and 
cities  provide  parks,  recreation  piers,  and  public  baths 
near  congested  districts. 

Bible  sociology,  in  the  real  estate  laws  and  the  civil 
laws  of  the  Old  Testament,  carefully  guarded  the  poor 
and  sought  to  limit  poverty.  The  dignity  and  worth  of 
man,  the  poor  as  well  as  the  rich,  are  leading  principles 
of  the  'New  Testament.  The  Gospel  strives  to  develop 
that  manhood  which,  when  it  employs  labor,  sees  in  the 


236      modee:n"  peactical  theology 

laborer  a  brother  man,  and  seeks  his  welfare;  and  when 
it  sells  labor  puts  manhood  into  it,  securing  industry  and 
efficiency. 

It  is  evident  that  Bible  sociology  not  only  ameliorates 
the  condition,  but  aims  to  remove  the  causes  of  poverty. 
The  minister  should  not  only  have  sympathy  with  the 
poor  and  try  to  ameliorate  their  hard  lot,  but  he  should 
endeavor  wisely,  kindly,  and  faithfully  to  remove  the 
causes  of  poverty. 

The  principal  vices  are  (1)  Sexual  Impurity,  (2) 
Intemperance,  (3)  Gambling,  and  (4)  Political  and 
Police  Corruption. 

I.  Sexual  Impurity,  which  is  the  vice  that  strikes 
at  the  foundations  of  society,  is  fearfully  prevalent.  It 
is  not  so  prominent  to  the  sight  as  Intemperance,  but  it 
vies  with  that  vice  in  its  permeating  society,  and  it 
probably  excels  it  in  corrupting  and  destructive  influ- 
ences. ^^Dead  Seas"  some  one  has  called  the  lurking- 
places  of  impurity,  the  haunts  of  ill  fame,  and  these  seas 
have  their  bays  and  inlets  in  every  town  and  village  of 
our  land.  Mrs.  Ballington  Booth  says  there  are  250,000 
harlots  ^^ known  and  marked"  in  the  United  States 
alone.  Dr.  De  Costa  says  that  ^ '  for  every  fallen  woman 
there  are  five  fallen  men."  It  is  estimated  that  $65,- 
000,000  is  annually  wasted  in  the  l^ew  York  City  broth- 
els, and  no  one  can  estimate  the  waste  of  manhood  and 
womahhood.  Beyond  all  that  can  be  seen,  there  is  a 
fearful  amount  of  sexual  impurity  that  never  comes  to 
the  light.  Society  should  fi^own  upon  this  destructive 
vice.  It  should  not  be  allowed  boldly  to  ensnare  the 
young.  Toronto,  with  a  population  of  250,000,  does  not 
tolerate  a  house  of  ill  fame  or  a  street-walker.     But  the 


SOCIOLOGY  237 

cause  here  must  also  not  be  neglected;  it  lies  largely  in 
the  ignorance  of  the  meaning  of  the  sexual  passion  and 
in  the  resulting  lack  of  self-control. 

Too  often  the  pulpit  is  silent  on  this  subject.  It 
should,  with  suitable  delicacy  and  faithfulness,  instruct 
and  warn  the  young,  and  should  stimulate  public  opinion 
to  war  relentlessly  against  the  vice.  Bible  sociology,  cul- 
minating in  the  teaching  of  Christ,  fosters  social  purity. 

2.  Intemperance  is  closely  associated  with  the  other 
vices  of  impurity,  gambling,  and  police  corruption,  and 
is  a  prolific  cause  both  of  poverty  and  of  crime. 

There  is  much  use  of  intoxicating  liquors  which  is  not 
intemperance,  and  it  is  often  difficult  to  tell  where  mod- 
erate drinking  passes  the  line  and  becomes  intemperate 
drinking.  But  intemperance  once  reached  has  a  terrible 
hold  on  its  victim  and  becomes  a  widespread  corruption 
in  society. 

There  are  at  least /owr  main  causes  of  intemperance: 

1.  The  appetite  for  stimulants.  This  has  a  tendency 
to  grow  with  indulgence. 

2.  The  social  appeal  of  the  saloon.  It  provides  phys- 
ical comfort:  it  is  warm  in  winter,  cool  in  summer,  a 
place  where  men  meet  on  terms  of  equality  and  have 
freedom  to  discuss  business,  politics,  pleasure,  where 
games  and  music  are  provided,  where  a  lunch-counter 
provides  needed  food;  but  all  the  attractions  are  means 
to  an  end — one  is  expected  to  drink,  to  treat,  and  to  be 
treated. 

3.  The  greed  of  liquor  making  and  selling.  There  is 
great  profit  in  the  business,  both  wholesale  and  retail, 
and  it  is  worked  up  diligently.  The  saloons  are  often 
simply  agencies  of  the  great  breweries. 


238    MODEEN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

4.  The  crowded,  iincomfortable  homes  of  the  poor,  and 
the  insufficient  and  improperly  cooked  food  there  pro- 
vided. 

Tlie  remedies  which  are  to  meet  the  causes  are  five  in 
number: 

1.  Self-control.  This  includes  Temperance  Societies 
and  the  Total  Abstinence  Pledge. 

2.  Eestriction  or  abolition  of  the  saloon.  The  License 
System  is  a  restriction,  often  slight,  but  becoming  greater 
as  the  license  fee  is  increased  and  the  law  enforced. 
Prohibition  prohibits  both  the  making  and  selling  in- 
toxicating drinks  as  a  beverage. 

3.  The  providing  social  attractions,  apart  from  the  sale 
of  intoxicants,  to  offset  those  of  the  saloon.  Sometimes 
the  sale  of  liquor  is  permitted,  but  no  profit  made  from 
it,  while  non-intoxicating  drinks  are  sold  at  a  profit,  so 
that  the  salesman's  interest  is  against  intemperance. 

4.  The  removal  by  the  State  of  all  profit  from  the  sale 
of  liquor.  The  State  provides  the  liquor,  free  from  all 
attractions  at  the  place  of  sale,  and  the  liquor  must  not 
be  used  in  the  place  when  sold. 

5.  The  social  efforts  to  increase  the  comfort  of  the 
dwellings  of  the  poor  and  to  improve  the  methods  of 
preparing  food,  thus  incidentally  checking  intemperance. 

3.  Gambling  is  a  vice  containing  at  least  three  ele- 
ments^: the  spirit  of  play,  the  love  of  excitement,  and  the 
desire  to  get  something  for  nothing.  The  fact  that  the 
one  who  loses  agreed  to  take  the  risk  and  wanted  to  win 
does  not  change  the  fact  that  the  winner  gave  no  equiva- 
lent for  the  thing  won.  This  last  element  is  the  cor- 
rupting one,  and  is  present  in  the  game  of  cards  for 
money,  at  the  gambling-table,  and  in  the  lottery,  as  also 


SOCIOLOGY  239 

in  betting  on  horse -ra<*es,  ball -games,  elections^  and  the 
rise  and  fall  of  stocks.  The  remedy  is  to  make  plain  to 
the  conscience  this  vicious  element,  and  to  cultivate  a 
public  opinion  that  shall  make  all  attempts  to  get  some- 
thing for  nothing  disgraceful. 

4.  In  Political  Corruption  wealth  tries  to  buy  office 
or  legislation.  In  Police  Corruption  Vice  and  Crime 
try  to  buy  immunity  from  the  penalty  of  violated  law. 
Both  kinds  of  corruption  are  deadly  blows  at  good  gov- 
ernment, and  it  is  evident  these  things  ought  never  to 
be  subject  to  barter.  The  remedy  is  the  cultivation 
of  a  public  opinion  demanding  that  each  citizen  shall 
express  his  free  judgment  on  men  and  measures  in  his 
vote,  and  that  each  officer  of  the  state  shall  seek  the  pub- 
lic good  rather  than  private  gain. 

Crime  preys  upon  society.  It  is  said  that  750,000 
men  and  women  pass  through  our  prisons  and  jails 
yearly,  and  that  nearly  one-half  of  these  are  under 
twenty-five  years  of  age. 

It  is  also  estimated  that  the  cost  of  crime  in  the  United 
States  is  about  $600,000,000  a  year;  about  one-half  of 
this  is  expended  on  the  care  of  criminals,  the  other 
half  is  the  estimated  economic  waste  produced  by  crim- 
inals. 

It  is  obvious  the  interest  of  society  is  to  reduce  this 
criminal  class  both  in  degree  of  criminality  and  in  num- 
ber; that  defense  of  itself  and  punishment  of  the  crimi- 
nal are  only  means  to  this  end.  It  is  almost  impossible 
to  conduct  jails  and  prisons  but  that  the  idleness,  society 
of  criminals  however  restricted,  and  disgrace  shall  make 
them  schools  of  crime,  so  confirming  and  fostering  the 
criminal  class.     Still,  society  must  have  these  institu- 


240    MODEEN  PEACTIOAL  THEOLOGY 

tious,  and  should  coustautly  endeavor  to  make  them 
reformatories  fostering  virtue. 

Laws  define  crimes  and  their  penalties,  but  the  real 
objects  treated  by  society  in  its  courts  are  criminals.  It 
is  best  for  society  that  each  one  convicted  of  crime 
should  be  so  cared  for  by  society  that  he  does  not  become 
a  confirmed  criminal. 

There  are  three  principles  prevailing  in  the  most 
enlightened  and  advanced  Penology: 

1.  I^ever  confine  a  convicted  person  in  prison  but  as  a 
last  resort.  This  results  in  the  suspended  sentence,  and 
the  convicted  is  put  in  charge  of  a  probation  officer,  and 
is  to  be  free  while  he  maintains  good  behavior. 

2.  When  forced  to  imprison  a  criminal,  send  him  to 
prison  for  an  indefinite  term,  until  he  is  fit  to  be  freed 
— that  is,  until  he  gives  fair  promise  of  being  a  self- 
supporting,  law-abiding  citizen.  This  is  extending  the 
principle  which  now  prevails  in  prisons  of  shortening 
the  term  for  good  conduct.  The  prison  is  to  teach  him 
self-support  and  virtue,  but  still  is  to  be  so  much  of  a 
penal  institution  that  each  occupant  will  want  to  gradu- 
ate as  soon  as  possible. 

3.  A  criminal  who  is  released  is  released  on  parole. 
He  is  placed  on  his  honor,  and  remains  free  during  good 
behavior.  The  devices  of  probation  of&cers  in  the  first 
instance,  and  of  parole  in  the  last,  are  capable  of  indefi- 
nite development.  The  difficulty  is  for  society  to  pro- 
vide work  and  opportunity  for  such  without  virtually 
rewarding  the  crime.  It  seems  dangerous  carelessly  to 
overthrow  the  public  opinion  that  '^once  a  convict 
always  a  convict "  as  it  is  to  overthrow  the  belief  that 
^^once  a  fallen  woman  always  a  faUen  woman  "j  other- 


SOCIOLOGY  241 

wise  the  entrance  upon  the  downward  i)ath  may  be  robbed 
of  some  of  its  hideous  features.  But  the  caution  should 
not  in  either  case  be  of  hard-hearted  and  selfish  social 
virtue,  but  of  social  consideration  and  love,  seeking  to 
save  its  fallen  members. 

The  class  of  the  Socially  Inactive  lives  upon 
society  without  rendering  any  contribution  to  the  social 
welfare,  and  is  composed  mainly  of  deficients. 

It  is  said  that  there  are  100, 000  imbeciles  in  the  United 
States,  and  that  70  per  cent,  of  these  are  children  of 
imbecile  parents.  Society  has  not  yet  devised  a  way  of 
preventing  the  marriage  of  those  i^ersons  who  are  im- 
becile, but  not  to  the  degree  of  absolute  helplessness. 
There  is  also  a  large  class  of  insane  people,  and  society 
must  care  for  these  wisely  and  kindly-  But  the  two 
extremes  of  the  Socially  Inactive  are  much  the  larger  in 
numbers:  thei>aiipers  and  the  idle  rich. 

The  public  opinion  which  wisely  prevents  poverty 
recruiting  pauperism  and  riches  leading  to  idleness  is  to 
be  cultivated. 

With  reference  to  all  social  diseases,  the  ideal  of  soci- 
ety should  not  be  the  toleration  of  disease,  but  the  gain- 
ing of  health.  Society  should  consider  the  conditions 
which  favor  the  growth  of  disease,  and  should  patiently 
and  firmly  change  them  into  conditions  favoring  health. 

Dynamic  sociology  directs  attention  to  the  family 
and  childhood,  both  with  regard  to  checking  diseases  and 
to  promoting  health.  The  inherent  powers  of  parental 
affection  and  of  the  social  consciousness  or  public  opinion, 
when  intelligently  directed  to  the  attainment  of  social 
ideals,  must  converge  upon  the  child.  But  sociology  and 
pedagogy  agree  that  education  is  something  more  than 


242    MODEEN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

information;  that  it  includes  training,  and  this  training 
is  of  all  man's  power,  physical,  intellectual,  moral,  and 
spiritual;  both  sciences  protest  against  leaving  out  the 
latter.  Mere  intellectual  training  does  not  save  from 
vice;  the  moral  and  the  spiritual  in  the  child  must  have 
due  attention. 

Both  sciences,  while  paying  great  and  constant  atten- 
tion to  adults,  recognize  their  most  hopeful  field  is  child 
saving,  and  in  this  they  must  sit  at  the  feet  of  the  great 
Child  Savior  of  the  world,  who  said:  '^Of  such  is  the 
Kingdom  of  Heaven. ' ' 

Sociology  has  a  large  place  in  the  Bible.  The 
Bible  is  a  sociological  as  well  as  a  theological  book.  In 
the  Old  Testament  the  prophets  apply  the  principles  of 
righteousness  to  the  family  and  national  life.  In  the 
Kew  Testament,  Christ  and  His  apostles  apply  the  prin- 
ciples of  righteousness  to  the  Church  life,  and  to  the 
social  life  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  on  earth. 

Both  the  Ten  Commandments  and  the  Lord's  Prayer 
are  largely  sociological. 

Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  teaches  sociology  in  the  same 
way  in  which  He  teaches  theology,  not  systematically, 
but  by  His  life  and  precepts,  by  the  setting  forth  of 
principles,  the  giving  of  impulses,  and  the  renewing  of 
the  life.  He  is  both  the  Son  of  God  and  the  Son  of  Man. 
The  pjHncipal  themes  of  Christ' s  sociological  teachings  are 
the  unfolding  of  the  law  of  love  in  its  application  to  the 
five  main  social  relations: 

1.  To  the  family — as  the  social  spring. 

2.  To  the  state — as  collective  society. 

3.  To  fellowship — as  the  ideal  brotherhood. 
^.  To  ivealth — as  the  use  of  this  world. 


SOCIOLOGY  243 

5.  To  the  Church — as  the  training-scliool  of  the  King- 
dom of  God. 

The  ideal  of  the  whole  Bible,  the  Old  Testament  cul- 
minating in  the  [N'ew,  is  the  Kingdom  of  God. 

The  Kingship  of  Christ  is  the  heart  of  both  theology 
and  sociology.  Christ  as  the  Great  Prophet  teaches  of 
the  Kingdom.  Christ  as  the  Great  Priest  atones  for  sin, 
securing  the  salvation  of  individual  believers — their 
entrance  into  the  Kingdom.  He  is  both  Prophet  and 
Priest  that  He  may  be  King.  As  King  He  applies  the 
result  of  His  Prophetical  and  Priestly  work  in  the  sal- 
vation of  the  individual,  and  He  rules  this  individual  as 
a  social  being  for  the  salvation  of  society.  His  immediate 
aim  is  a  new  man.  His  ultimate  aim  is  a  new  society. 
Christ's  teaching  of  the  worth  of  the  individual  makes 
the  lowest  man  a  brother  of  the  King,  and  gives  him  a 
place  in  the  establishment  of  the  Kingdom.  The  King- 
dom of  God  is  the  highest  and  widest  attainment  of  prac- 
tical theology,  including  sociology;  at  its  establishment 
all  men  shall  know  and  treat  God  as  their  Father  and 
their  fellow  men  as  brothers.  In  this  Kingdom  the 
highest  in  rank  and  office  shall  be  those  who  in  loving 
service  and  sacrifice  are  most  like  their  King. 

This  is  Christ's  ideal  of  society,  and  the  Church  is  his 
means  of  showing  it  forth  to  the  world^  and  of  estab- 
lishing it  in  the  whole  earth. 

In  the  Acts  and  the  Epistles  the  apostles  applied 
Christ's  life  and  teachings  to  the  then  existing  con- 
ditions, and  the  highest  heathenism  the  world  has 
ever  known  began  to  feel  a  wonderful  change,  as  it  ex- 
claimed: ''■  How  these  Christians  love  one  another  ! " 

We  are  to  apply  Christ's  life  and  teachings  to  the  con- 


244        MODEEN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

ditions  existing  in  the  world  to-day  in  Christian  lands 
and  in  the  whole  earth. 

The  clear  duty  of  the  Church  to-day  is  to  give  the 
Kingship  of  Christ  the  same  prominence  in  her  thought 
and  life  that  the  Bible  gives  it,  and  in  His  name  to  trans- 
form society  everywhere  into  the  Kingdom  of  God. 


CHAPTER  VII 
THE    ENGLISH    BIBLE 

In  this  course  we  are  to  read  a  book  of  the  Bible  as 
a  whole,  and,  if  possible,  at  a  single  sitting.  As  an 
authority  in  theology  we  are  to  look  not  at  particular 
texts,  but  at  a  whole  book.  As  a  field  of  spiritual  re- 
freshment we  are  to  read  not  a  few  verses,  but  a  poem,  a 
story,  a  book.  Such  a  general  survey  is  an  excellent  aid 
to  exegesis.  The  design  is  thus  to  read  the  whole  Bible 
during  the  seminary  course  of  three  years.  This  will 
make  the  weekly  assignment  of  such  a  size  that  it  can 
be  read  easily  not  only  at  a  single  sitting,  but  can  be 
read  several  times  during  the  week.  It  will  be  well  to 
read  it  at  least  once  aloud  and  with  expression,  thus 
gaining  the  familiarity  that  comes  through  the  ear  as 
well  as  through  the  eye,  becoming  familiar  with  the 
sound  of  God's  Word  in  the  music  of  our  own  tongue. 
It  will  be  well  also  to  divide  each  book  into  proper  sec- 
tions, according  to  the  progression  of  thought;  to  give 
to  each  section  an  appropriate  caption  as  terse,  striking, 
and  precise  as  i30ssible;  and  to  make  subdivisions  where 
needed  in  like  manner — this  may  be  done  upon  the 
margin  of  the  Bible  which  you  devote  to  this  kind  of 
reading.  A  minister  can  not  become  too  familiar  with 
his  Bible;  it  is  his  source  of  spiritual  power,  the  Word 
of  God  to  his  own  soul,  and  it  is  his  means  of  reaching 
the  souls  of  others,  the  sword  of  the  Spirit. 

However  good  scholars  we  may  become  in  the  original 

245 


246   MODEEN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

languages  of  the  Scriptures  (and  our  ambition  to  become 
the  best  possible  scholars  should  be  strong  and  control- 
ing  for  Christ's  sake),  the  basis  of  our  familiarity  with 
the  Bible  must  still  be  in  our  native  tongue,  and  our  use 
of  the  Bible  to  reach  others  must  be  in  that  tongue  ex- 
clusively. It  will  be  well  to  have  two  note-booJiS  at  hand 
in  this  course  of  reading.  In  one  you  are  to  gather 
those  texts  you  discover  in  your  reading  which  suggest 
sermons  or  seem  suitable  for  personal  work,  and  together 
with  the  passage  you  are  to  set  down  concisely  and 
clearly  as  possible  the  line  of  thought  suggested.  This 
book  will  cover  the  Homiletic  and  Pastoral  Departments 
of  your  work.  A  second  note-book,  not  for  special  texts, 
but  for  sections  or  incidents,  should  be  devoted  to  the 
remaining  departments  of  your  work :  to  the  conduct  of 
public  worship,  to  pedagogy,  especially  the  training  of 
children,  and  to  sociology.  If  you  are  diligent  these 
note-books  will  soon  need  to  be  succeeded  by  others;  the 
set  of  books  will  prove  invaluable  in  your  life-work. 

Our  language  is  peculiarly  rich  in  versions  of  the 
Scripture.  The  three  great  versions  we  possess  are  the 
work  of  many  scholars,  and  the  result  of  many  versions 
to  be  here  only  noted. 

1.  King  Alfred's  version,  901  A.D.,  was  of  parts  of 
the  Bible  only.  It  was  preceded  by  equally  fragmen- 
tary versions  of  Beda,  and  of  Bishops  Eadfrid  and 
Egbert. 

2.  Wyclif's  version  in  1382  was  the  first  rendering 
in  our  language  of  the  whole  Bible.  It  was  from  the 
Latin,  and  cost  $200  a  copy. 

3.  Tyndale's  version,  in  1526,  was  from  the  original 
languages.     Froude  says:  '^The  peculiar  genius  which 


THE  ENGLISH  BIBLE  247 

breathes  tlirough  our  English  Bible,  the  mingled  tender- 
ness and  majesty,  the  Saxon  simplicity,  and  the  preter- 
natural grandeur,  all  bear  the  impress  of  the  mind  of  one 
man,  William  Tyndale." 

4.  The  Coverdale  version,  1535,  was  based  largely 
upon  the  Yulgate  and  the  German  versions.  It  is  some- 
times quaint,  but  generally  musical;  some  of  the  most 
rhythmical  and  familiar  passages  in  the  Psalms  come 
from  this  version  (see  the  Psalms  in  the  Book  of  Com- 
mon Prayer). 

5.  Besides,  we  are  to  acknowledge  the  influence  of: 
The  Great  Bible,  1539,  called  Cranmer's;  the  German 
Bible,  1560,  translated,  under  the  influence  of  Beza  and 
Calvin,  by  English  refugees;  the  Bishops'  Bible,  1568; 
and  the  Douai  Bible,  1582,  approved  by  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church. 

Of  the  three  great  versions  now  in  circulation.  King 
James'  version,  1611,  was  seven  years  in  making  by  a 
company  of  fifty -four  learned  men.  At  the  time  it  was 
issued,  Shakespeare,  Milton,  and  Bacon  were  living;  it 
was  the  classic  age  of  English  literature.  Faber  says  of 
this  version:  ^^It  lives  on  the  ear  like  music  that  can 
never  be  forgotten.  Its  felicities  often  seem  to  be  things 
rather  than  mere  words."  The  simplicity,  directness, 
and  strength  of  the  Hebrew  language,  and  the  richness, 
clearness,  and  beauty  of  the  Greek  alike  find  free  expres- 
sion in  our  classic  English.  The  body  of  it  is  Anglo- 
Saxon  with  its  strength  and  clearness,  with  which  the 
grace  of  the  Norman  French,  and  the  dignity  of  the 
Latin  are  cautiously  and  harmoniously  mingled.  The 
Bible  is  stronger  than  Shakespeare  in  words  of  Anglo- 
Saxon  origin,  much  stronger  than  Milton. 


248    MODERN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

In  Shakespeare's  soliloquy  of  Hamlet,  ^'To  be  or  not 
to  be/'  of  81  words,  68  are  Anglo-Saxon,  while  in  Mil- 
ton's ^^  Paradise  Lost,"  in  a  selection  from  Book  lY.,  of 
90  words,  72  are  Anglo-Saxon. 

In  the  story  of  Joseph  (Gen.  xlii :  21-29),  of  240  words, 
233  are  Anglo-Saxon.  In  the  Parable  of  the  Sower 
(Matt,  xiii),  of  106  words,  103  are  Anglo-Saxon.  In  the 
Lord's  Prayer  (Matt,  vi.),  of  65  words,  59  are  Anglo- 
Saxon. 

It  is  to  the  Anglo-Saxon  that  we  owe  the  beauty  and 
strength  of  the  first  verse  in  the  Bible — ^perhaps  the 
most  sublime  sentence  in  all  literature. 

The  King  James  version  is  marred  for  continuous 
reading  by  being  divided  into  chapters  and  verses — a 
purely  human  contrivance,  the  chapters  having  been 
introduced  by  Cardinal  Hugo  in  the  thirteenth  century, 
and  the  verses  by  Robert  Stevens  in  1551. 

During  the  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  since  the  King 
James  version,  many  valuable  manuscripts  were  discov- 
ered, much  advance  in  scholarship  was  made,  and  many 
words  in  that  version  became  obsolete.  In  1870  a  large 
company  of  101  scholars,  from  many  denominations  and 
from  many  educational  institutions,  was  formed,  and 
began  a  new  version.  Sixty-seven  were  British  scholars 
and  thirty-four  American.  The  purpose  was  to  make  an 
absolutely  correct  version,  but  to  retain,  as  far  as  pos- 
sible, the  clearness,  strength,  and  music  of  the  Authorized 
version.  The  Revised  version  was  completed  in  1885. 
As  many  of  the  suggestions  of  the  American  scholars 
were  not  embodied  in  the  text,  but  arranged  in  an 
Appendix,  when  the  British  company  disbanded,  the 
American  company  continued  their  existence  and  labors, 


THE  ENGLISH  BIBLE  249 

and  it  became  generally  conceded  that  their  renderings 
were  the  more  expressive  of  the  meaning  of  the  original 
text. 

In  1901  the  American  Revised  version  was  issued, 
happily  in  the  millenary  of  the  King  Alfred  version. 
While  some  of  the  music  and  the  felicity  of  the  King 
James  version  are  lost,  much  is  retained  and  great 
accuracy  is  secured.  In  both  these  late  versions  the 
chapter  and  verse  divisions  so  necessary  for  reference 
are  thrown  in  the  margin,  and  the  whole  Bible  is 
placed  in  our  hands  finely  arranged  for  continuous 
reading. 

We  will,  therefore,  in  this  course,  select  the  American 
Eevision  for  our  reading. 

The  Bible  is  the  inspired  record  of  the  religion 
of  redemption  growing  out  of  a  progressive  Divine 
revelation. 

This  religion  is  introduced  in  the  Pentateuch-  it  is 
developed  historically  in  the  historical  books,  emotion- 
ally in  the  poetical  books,  and  hopefully  in  the  prophet- 
ical books  of  the  Old  Testament;  it  culminates  in  the 
revelation  of  the  Son  of  God:  historically  in  the  society 
gathered  by  Christ  in  the  Gospels  and  the  Acts,  emotion- 
ally in  the  Epistles  from  the  heart  to  the  heart,  and 
hopefully  in  the  whole  outlook  of  the  ^ew  Testament, 
especially  in  the  Eevelation. 

The  philosophy  of  the  whole  Bible  treats  of  the  three 
great  themes  of  human  thought:  God,  the  Universe, 
and  Man.  It  is  based  upon  the  four  great  truths  of  rev- 
elation : 

1.  There  is  one  God,  a  spirit. 

2.  God  created  and  rules  the  universe. 


250    MODEEN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

3.  God  made  man  a  spiritual  being,  capable  of  know- 
ing and  having  fellowsliip  with  Himself. 

4.  God  governs  the  world  in  righteousness.  The  re- 
demption of  mankind  is  in  righteousness  and  to  right- 
eousness. 

Part  I.  The  Old  Testament 

Genesis  is  primitive  history.  In  chapters  i-xi  it  is 
the  history  of  the  race,  covering  vastly  more  than  two 
thousand  years.  In  chapters  xii-1  it  is  the  history  of  a 
family,  covering  over  five  hundred  years. 

The  history  is  largely  in  genealogies,  arranged  with 
little  reference  to  chronology;  and  it  is  adorned  with 
suggestive  beginnings  of  customs,  arts,  nations;  with 
glimpses  of  the  early  life  of  mankind,  and  with  striking 
lives  and  events  described  in  the  true  epic  spirit,  kin- 
dling the  imagination  and  stirring  the  emotions;  it  is 
primitive  history  adorned  with  true  epic  stories. 

Genesis  should  be  read  in  the  light  of  modern  science 
and  historical  research.  While  it  was  not  written  to 
teach  either  science  or  history,  its  bold  statements  are  in 
striking  harmony  with  both.  It  is  free  from  the  absurdi- 
ties of  other  ancient  books. 

1.  Science  sees  but  one  creative  force  in  the  universe; 
tells  of  successive  stages  of  formation;  makes  man,  tho 
akin  to  animals,  distinct  from  them  in  mental  and  spiri- 
tual nature,  the  culmination  of  the  earth  formation;  and 
holds  to  the  solidarity  of  the  race  of  man.  In  these  four 
great  particulars,  and  in  many  minor  ones,  it  is  in  full 
agreement  with  Genesis. 

The  first  chapter  of  Genesis  is  the  sign  manual  of  its 
great  Author,  giving  knowledge  He  alone  could  have 
possessed  in  that  day,  clothing  it  in  the  poetic  visions  of 


THE   ENGLISH   BIBLE  251 

the  human  writer,  which  the  advancing  knowledge  of 
modern  times  simx)ly  interprets. 

The  first  formation  of  the  growing  order  is  light;  then 
comes  the  separation  of  the  gases,  and  their  condensa- 
tion into  material  conditions  fitted  for  life;  then  the  in- 
troduction of  vegetable  life  in  the  seed  or  germ  stage; 
then  the  clearing  of  the  enveloping  clouds  of  gases  by 
vegetable  life,  and  the  shining  in  upon  the  earth  of  the 
heavenly  bodies,  which  also  have  been  passing  through 
their  formation  stages;  then  the  introduction  of  animal 
life  in  lowest  or  germ  stage  and  its  advancing  ranks, 
until  man,  the  culmination,  is  reached,  and  God  intro- 
duces again  a  new  element,  his  o^ti  spiritual  life. 

There  is  all  the  room  in  the  Bible  account  there  is  in 
nature  for  the  theory  of  evolutmij  the  manner  in  which 
God  has  evolved  His  great  plan  until  the  present  condi- 
tion is  reached.  The  great  stages  of  its  unfolding,  the 
introduction  of  new  forces,  as  vegetable,  animal,  and 
spiritual  life,  the  presiding  power  of  God  ever  present 
and  revealing  Himself — these  are  not  only  in  the  first 
chapter  of  Genesis  as  they  are  in  nature,  but  they  are 
there  in  the  same  marvelous  order.  Of  Godless  evolu- 
tion there  is  nothing  either  in  nature  or  in  the  Bible.  Of 
the  mechanical  instantaneous  making  of  things  there  is 
nothing  either  in  nature  or  in  the  Bible.  The  grandeur 
of  the  power  and  wisdom  of  God  is  seen  in  the  gradual 
unfolding  of  His  plan.  Genesis  differs  from  the  Baby- 
lonian Hymn  of  Creation,  not  only  in  the  oneness  of 
God,  but  in  the  oneness  and  stately  progression  of  the 
unfolding  plan  of  creation.  The  same  great  plan  of 
evolution,  the  evolution  of  God's  plan,  runs  through  the 
beginnings  of  customs,  acts,  and  nations  in  the  advance 


252        MODEE]^  PRACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

of  the  human  race  hinted  at  in  Genesis,  and  in  the  whole 
Bible  theme;  the  religion  of  redemption  is  based  upon 
the  progressive  revelation  of  God. 

2.  Historical  research  has  in  modern  times  learned  to 
read  the  literature  of  the  two  civilizations  flourishing 
in  the  early  days^^described  in  Genesis.  The  living  actors 
wrote  accounts  of  their  great  deeds;  these  records,  long 
lost  to  human  knowledge,  now  tell  their  wondrous  story. 
The  Egyptian  hieroglyphic  rock  books  and  papyrus 
rolls  and  the  Assyrian  cuniform  brick  books,  many  of 
them  written  before  the  time  of  Moses,  and  discovered 
and  deciphered  only  in  our  day,  while  still  only  a  frag- 
mentary literature,  are  in  remarkable  harmony  with  the 
early  history  of  Genesis;  they  show  that  certain  words 
in  the  Pentateuch,  before  supposed  to  be  of  a  much  later 
date,  had  existed  before  the  time  of  Moses;  that  Moses 
would  have  been  inferior  to  the  men  of  his  day  if  he 
could  not  have  written  a  record  of  his  deeds — in  short, 
that  the  Bible  account  is  as  real  and  full  of  the  color  of 
the  age  as  their  own. 

The  peculiarity  of  Genesis  is  its  record  of  super- 
natural revelations  of  God.  There  are  thirty-four  such 
communications  mainly  made  to  individuals,  and  con- 
veyed in  a  great  variety  of  ways — by  vision,  voice, 
dreams,  symbols,  angelic  messengers,  and  by  God's  ap- 
pearance as  a;  man.  God' s  hand  in  nature  and  in  the 
affairs  Of  mankind  is  specially  recognized.  God  reveals 
Himself  also  by  His  names — Elohim  being  the  prominent 
one  in  use  before  the  time  of  Moses.  So  everywhere 
and  in  many  ways  the  majestic  presence  of  God  per- 
vades the  whole  book. 

The  attribute  of  God  most  prominently  revealed  in 


THE   ENGLISH   BIBLE  253 

Genesis  is  His  Almightiness ;  this  is  shown  in  creation, 
in  the  call  of  Abraham,  in  retribution  toward  Jacob,  in 
providence  toward  Joseph.  God  is  also  significantly  re- 
vealed as  entering  into  covenant  with  man. 

Exodus  is  constitutional  history.  It  shows  the 
formation  of  a  nation  with  laws  and  customs.  It  has 
three  main  divisions: 

1.  Deliverance  from  Egyptian  Slavery  and  Idolatry 
(chapters  i-xviii). 

2.  Giving  the  Law  (chapters  xix-xxiv). 

3.  Building  the  Tabernacle  (chapters  xxv-xl). 

As  in  Genesis,  the  history  is  told  in  the  true  epic  spirit; 
not  in  dry,  dull  details,  but  in  a  way  to  kindle  the 
imagination  and  to  stir  the  emotions.  Thus  the  Story  of 
the  Plagues  has  the  world  as  the  audience,  with  two 
great  nations,  the  parties  in  interest,  in  the  background. 
Pharaoh  and  Moses  are  the  great  leaders  in  the  stupen- 
dous scenes,  while  unseen,  but  always  present,  is  the 
Great  Jehovah.  Egypt  relied  upon  its  great  river,  so 
prolific  of  life,  and  upon  its  cloudless  sky.  At  God's 
command  the  river  became  a  curse,  the  source  of  pests 
and  pestilence  touching  life;  the  serene  sky  a  terror,  and 
in  the  darkness  of  night  the  joy  and  pride  of  each  home 
went  out  in  death. 

The  revelation  of  God  in  supernatural  ways  is  the 
prominent  feature  of  the  book,  but  this  is  an  advance 
both  in  manner  and  substance  upon  the  revelation  given 
in  Genesis.  In  manner  the  advance  is  as  follows.  New 
elements  are  introduced:  (1)  revelation  to  an  individual 
as  a  messenger  to  others,  and  (2)  miracles  as  authenti- 
cating a  Divine  messenger,  and  illustrating  and  enforcing 
the  message. 


254    MODEEN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

In  substance  the  progress  is  shown  in  that  (1)  the 
prominent  attitude  of  God  is  revealed  to  be  His  faithful- 
ness in  fulfilling  His  covenants,  and  (2)  that  in  the  giv- 
ing of  the  moral  law  the  absolute  righteousness  of  God  as 
the  lawgiver  is  seen. 

The  laws  now  begun  continue  through  succeeding 
books,  and  should  be  classified.  The  Moral  Law  not 
only  reveals  the  righteousness  of  God,  but  is  an  authori- 
tative description  of  the  nature  of  man  as  God  designed 
him.  It  has  never  been  changed  in  the  slightest  particu- 
lar, nor  can  it  ever  be.     It  is  perfect. 

The  Civil  Laws  organize  a  society,  and  are  to  be  en- 
forced by  that  society.  They  can  not,  therefore,  be  per- 
fect 5  they  are  subject  to  change,  but  in  each  stage  they 
are  the  God- devised  means  of  cultivating  the  people  in  a 
constant  advance  to  a  public  opinion  capable  of  enforc- 
ing righteous  legislation. 

The  Eeal  Estate  Laws,  the  Criminal  Laws,  the  Com- 
mercial Laws  of  that  young  nation  which  was  developing 
in  those  primitive  times  a  high  form  of  government, 
a  true  republic  in  ideal  at  least,  as  well  as  the  social 
laws  and  customs,  present  not  only  valuable  lessons 
but  noble  incentives  to  the  most  advanced  nations  of 
to-day. 

Leviticus  is  liturgical  history.  It  tells  of  that  im- 
portant feature  of  national  life,  the  worship  of  a  people. 
In  the'^first  sixteen  chapters  worship  is  described,  in  the 
last  chapters  the  worshipers  are  described.  The  attri- 
bute of  God  most  prominently  revealed  is  holiness.  He 
institutes  the  worship  and  impresses  His  holiness  upon  the 
worshiper.  l!^ote  the  frequent  use  of  the  word  ^^holy,'^ 
and  how  the  idea  is  developed  in  the  laws  relating  to 


THE  ENGLISH   BIBLE  255 

clean  men,  clean  animals,  clean  sacrifices,  clean  priests 
to  approach  a  holy  God.  We  turn  to  this  book  for  our 
idea  of  holiness,  and  it  is  difficult  to  see  how  God  could 
have  taught  man  of  holiness  in  any  other  way. 

Numbers  is  constitutional  history.  It  describes 
the  disciplining  a  mob  of  freed  slaves  into  the  order  and 
obedience  of  a  nation.  God  rules  in  the  camp  and  on 
the  march,  enforcing  order.  The  sentence  for  their  dis- 
obedience executes  itself  in  solemn  silence  for  thirty- 
eight  years,  while  God  remains  with  them,  cares  for 
them,  and  trains  the  new  generation  into  a  law-abiding 
nation. 

The  attribute  of  God  most  prominently  revealed  in 
this  book  is  His  justice^  its  severity  is  true  kindness. 

Deuteronomy  is  constitutional  history  continued. 
The  true  story  told  in  the  epic  spirit  is  the  sublime 
scene  of  a  nation  entering  into  covenant  with  God.  It  is 
a  book  of  great  orations,  well  worth  the  study  of  the 
preacher.  Four  orations  of  Moses  are  given  in  their  set- 
tings. It  is  a  series  of  orations  having  a  culmination: 
the  appeal  of  Moses  to  the  nation  to  enter  into  the  cove- 
nant with  God.  The  orderly  camp  is  established  in 
Moab,  at  the  entering  in  of  the  promised  land.  After  a 
rest  of  several  weeks,  the  people  being  in  suspense,  word 
is  sent  through  the  camp  for  the  Elders  to  appear  before 
Moses.  To  them  Moses  speaks  the  first  oration  (i:6- 
iv:  40).  He  announces  his  deposition.  He  can  not  lead 
them  into  the  land.  The  appeal  is  to  obey  God.  The 
assembly  breaks  up,  and  the  news  spreads  through  the 
camp.  The  second  call  follows  in  a  few  days,  with  the 
second  oration  (v:l-xi:32),  wherein  Moses  delivers  the 
book  of  Laws  to  the  Elders. 


256    MODEEN  PEACTIOAL  THEOLOGY 

In  this  oration  Moses  quoted  the  Ten  Command- 
ments. The  difference  in  the  fourth  commandment  is 
accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  Moses,  in  quoting,  adapts 
it  to  the  appeal  he  is  making.  There  is  no  change  in 
the  Moral  Lawj  written  upon  Tables  of  Stone,  it  is  in  the 
Ark  while  Moses  is  speaking. 

The  Code  of  Laws  which  Moses  gives  to  the  Elders 
follows  (xii:  1-xxvi:  16).  It  has  some  changes  from  the 
prior  laws,  and  gives  this  book  its  name:  ^^The  Second 
Law." 

The  third  call  goes  through  the  camp  in  a  few  days, 
and  Moses  gives  his  third  oration  (xxviii:  1-68),  upon  the 
Blessings  of  Obedience,  based  upon  the  impressive  cere- 
mony to  be  observed  when  the  Hebrews  are  in  possession 
of  their  land. 

For  the  fourth  time,  after  an  impressive  waiting  of  a 
few  days,  the  assembly  is  called,  and  Moses  gives  the 
fourth  oration,  on  the  Covenant  (xxix:  2-xxxi:  8).  The 
culmination  is  thus  reached,  and  the  nation,  under  the 
appeal  of  Moses,  enters  into  solemn  covenant  with  God. 

There  are  at  least  three  elements  entering  into  a 
great  oration: 

1.  The  personality  of  the  orator.  Here  it  was  that 
of  Moses,  one  of  the  greatest  of  men. 

2.  The  occasion — an  important  crisis  grasj^ed  worthily. 
Here  it  was  the  people  on  the  eve  of  entering  the  prom- 
ised I^nd. 

3.  The  speech — worthy  of  the  man  and  the  occasion. 
Yery  few  orators  are  great  enough  to  be  compared 

with  Moses.  Yery  few  orations  compare  with  these  in 
lofty  eloquence.  We  recall  Demosthenes  against  Philip, 
Cicero  against  Cataline,  Burke  against  Hastings,  Web- 


THE  ENGLISH  BIBLE  257 

ster  against  Hayiie — great  meu,  great  occasions,  great 
orations,  to  be  compared  wiih  Moses  speaking  in  advo- 
cacy of  the  covenant.  Here  is  a  greater  man,  a  greater 
occasion,  and  a  greater  series  of  orations;  the  marshaling 
of  facts,  arguments,  and  appeal  with  marvelous  power. 
Deuteronomy  is  a  book  of  eloquence,  and  closes  in  poetry. 
The  song  of  Moses  is  followed  by  the  blessing  of  the 
tribes,  as  he  passes  through  them  and  goes  up  into  the 
mountain  to  die. 

The  attribute  of  God  most  i)rominently  revealed  in 
Deuteronomy  is  love,  as  He  appeals  to  the  people  through 
Moses  to  enter  into  covenant  with  Him. 

The  last  four  books  of  the  Pentateuch  may  be  called 
the  Biography  of  Moses.  He  is  presented  not  as  a 
hazy  myth,  but  as  a  clear-cut  and  distinct  person  of 
august  and  commanding  character.  Standing  at  the 
beginning  of  Hebrew  history,  institutions,  and  litera- 
ture, he  is  great  enough  to  be  the  source  of  influences 
abiding  to  our  day — especially  great  in  that  God  spoke 
to  him  face  to  face. 

The  five  books  may  be  described  concisely: 

1.  Genesis.  Introductory,  God  seen  in  the  beginning 
of  things.     He  is  Almighty. 

2.  Exodus.  Prophetic,  God  teaches  in  Deliverance, 
Law,  and  His  Dwelling-place  with  His  people.  He  is 
faithful  and  righteous. 

3.  Leviticus.  Priestly,  God  institutes  worship.  He 
is  holy. 

4.  Numbers.  Kingly,  God  rules  His  people.  He  is 
just. 

5.  Deuteronomy.  The  Covenant,  God  appeals  to  the 
people.     He  is  love. 


258    MODEEN  PRACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

Joshua  gives  the  history  of  the  Conquest  of  Canaan 
(chapters  i-xii);  and  of  the  division  of  the  conquered  land 
among  the  tribes;  the  latter  account  may  he  called  the 
^ '  National  Record  of  Deeds ' '  (  chapters  xiii-xxi v  ) .  The 
book  is  solid  prose,  concise  and  vivid,  with  one  quotation 
of  poetry,  and  it  closes  with  the  orations  of  Joshua.  These 
may  be  compared  with  Napoleon's  proclamations  and 
Washington's  farewell  address,  and  they  show  Joshua 
was  the  worthy  successor  of  Moses,  both  as  general  and 
orator. 

The  campaigns  of  Joshua  are  studied  with  admiration 
in  the  military  schools  of  our  day.  The  book  tells  the 
story  of  a  great  change  in  history,  a  nation  migrating 
and  taking  possession  of  a  land  by  conquest.  Such 
changes  have  been  frequent  in  history;  those  made  by 
the  Saxons  in  England,  the  English  in  America,  are  the 
nearest  to  us  in  time  and  interest,  but  no  such  change 
ever  wrought  a  greater  or  more  beneficient  effect  in  the 
world. 

Looking  back  upon  the  Pentateuch,  we  see  that  the 
whole  atmosphere  is  one  of  the  desert  and  Egypt; 
looking  forward,  the  atmosphere  is  of  Judea.  This 
atmosphere  is  very  difficult  to  give  to  a  book,  it  ber 
longs  to  it  from  the  time  in  which  it  was  born.  The 
Pentateuch  gives  the  nation  its  Constitution.  Joshua 
give§  the  nation  its  title  of  Conquest  and  its  record  of 
Deeds. 

The  land  of  Judea,  which  for  a  long  time  after  this 
gives  its  atmosphere  and  outlook  to  the  books  we  are  to 
read,  is  a  mountainous  land  along  the  sea.  The  Great 
Desert  thrusts  itself  against  the  Great  Sea,  and  wrinkles 
itself  up  into  mountains  and  valleys.     This  land  is  not 


THE   ENGLISH   BIBLE  259 

isolated;  it  is  rather  the  bridge  over  which  the  ancient 
world  empires  had  to  pass  to  meet  each  other.  Lachish, 
near  the  sea,  witnessed  the  great  procession  of  the 
nations  with  the  pomp  of  war  and  the  riches  of  peace  as 
Egypt  passed  north  to  Assyria,  as  Babylon  passed  south 
to  reach  the  jS'ile,  and,  in  later  years,  as  Alexander  carried 
Greek  civilization  into  Egypt,  as  Pompey  carried  Eoman 
power  to  the  south,  as  Saladin  passed  north  to  meet 
Eichard  the  Lion-hearted,  and  as  I^apoleon  passed  to 
the  battle  of  Acre.  Living  up  on  the  mountains  and 
hills,  the  nation  of  Judah  could  watch,  but  need  not  be 
disturbed  by  the  world  empires  passing  along  the  rim  of 
the  land  by  the  sea;  by  this  same  bridge  the  chosen 
nation  could  easily  have  reached  the  known  world  with 
the  revelation  of  God  had  she  obeyed  her  missionary 
calling. 

Geologically  speaking,  this  land  is  the  result  of  a  great 
fault.  In  the  wrinkling  of  the  earth  the  strata  became 
tilted  and  broke,  one  side  sinking  down  while  the  other 
remained  tilted  up. 

The  Jordan  valley  is  a  remarkable  depression ;  nearly 
its  whole  length  it  is  below  the  level  of  the  Mediterranean 
Sea,  and  the  Dead  Sea  is  over  one  thousand  two  hundred 
feet  below  the  Mediterranean,  distant  only  about  one 
hundred  miles.  On  the  other  side  the  Great  Desert 
stretches  away  to  the  Euphrates.  How  much  the  first 
crash  of  this  remarkable  geological  fault  had  to  do  with 
the  Flood,  and  the  subsequent  jars  with  the  destruction 
of  the  Cities  of  the  Plain,  the  crossing  of  the  Eed  Sea, 
and  the  crossing  of  the  Jordan,  can  only  be  conjectured. 
The  sea,  the  desert,  the  great  depression,  and  the  moun- 
tains, those  at  the  north  snow  clad;  together  give  the 


260    MODEEN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

land  a  great  variety  of  climate  and  mucli  natural  beauty, 
and  these  make  great  impression  upon  tlie  character  of 
the  people  and  upon  their  books. 

The  land  is  also  a  storied  land,  rich  with  reminiscence 
of  the  wandering  patriarchs,  and  sacred  from  association 
with  the  deeds  of  men  called  of  God  to  deliver  the  nation. 
It  is  a  land  of  relics  left  to  this  day  of  the  cities  and 
civilization  submerged  by  the  incoming  Israelites. 

The  Judges  is  incidental  history,  a  record  of  heroic 
deeds  by  heroic  men.  It  may  be  called  a  book  of 
heroism.  It  has  been  an  inspiration  in  the  struggle  for 
freedom  in  all  lands  and  ages.  Seven  servitudes  and 
fourteen  judges  are  rapidly  and  vividly  described;  long 
intervals  of  peace  are  passed  over  in  silence.  The  gov- 
ernment was  largely  tribal,  the  worship  of  God  was  the 
main  centralizing  power.  The  people  were  taught  local 
self-government  and  dependence  on  God,  and  thus  the 
national  civilization  grew.  The  condition  was  that  of 
a  conquering  people  settling  in  a  land  from  which  the 
original  inhabitants  were  not  fully  expelled.  Eace  antag- 
onisms were  inevitable.  The  central  range  of  moun- 
tain and  hill  country  was  largely  in  the  hands  of  the  Is- 
raelites, but  the  plains  along  the  Great  Sea  were  mainly 
held  by  the  Canaanites.  The  Israelites  were  often  con- 
taminated and  enslaved.  Patriotic  leaders  arose  and 
delivered  them.  The  heroes  were  strong  men  of  many 
noble  qualities,  but  many  of  them,  judged  by  our  moral 
standard,  were  very  faulty,  and  in  a  struggle  for  life 
with  barbarians  they  committed  deeds  not  to  be  justified 
by  the  moral  sense  of  to-day. 

We  are  to  remember  that  the  Bible  does  not  sanction 
all  it  records.     Many  deeds  of  those  acting  under  the 


THE  ENGLISH   BIBLE  261 

general  direction  of  God  were  not  commanded  by  such 
direction  nor  approved  by  God. 

The  first  sixteen  chapters  cover  the  history,  the  last 
five  chapters  are  an  appendix  describing  features  of  the 
social  life  of  the  time  covered  by  the  history. 

Ruth.  The  age  of  the  Judges,  tho  rude,  produced  the 
scene  and  probably  the  book  of  Euth,  a  beautiful  idyl  of 
home  and  love  and  peace.  Goethe  says:  ^^Euthisthe 
loveliest  specimen  of  epic  and  idyllic  poetry  in  all 
literature. ' ' 

The  attribute  of  God  most  fully  revealed  in  these 
books  is  His  righteousness  in  His  moral  government  of 
nations,  putting  down  the  corrupt  and  raising  up  the 
righteous. 

The  growth  of  righteousness  in  the  Israelites  is  seen  in 
the  struggle  for  liberty  and  in  the  virtues  of  peace,  in 
Gideon  and  his  fellow  heroes  not  only,  but  in  Naomi, 
Euth,  and  Boaz.  A  further  evolution  of  righteousness  is 
recorded  in  the  following  historical  books. 

L  and  IL  Samuel.  The  two  books  were  originally 
one.  They  bear  the  name  of  Samuel  on  account  of  his 
prominence  in  the  great  change  in  Israel's  history  they 
record.  He  was  a  great  man  raised  for  a  great  occa- 
sion. First,  he  was  the  greatest  and  best  of  the  judges; 
not  merely  a  military  chieftain,  but  a  religious  reformer, 
good  as  well  as  great,  the  culmination  of  that  age. 
Second,  he  was  the  founder  and  leader  of  the  schools  of 
the  prophets.  Third,  he  was  the  maker  of  kings,  tho 
he  never  sought  to  be  a  king  himself.  He  introduced 
the  two  great  orders,  prophets  and  Mngs,  into  the  coming 
age.  The  idea  was  that  the  king  was  to  reign  under 
God;  and  was  to  be  subject  to  the  will  of  God  as  com- 


262    MODEEN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

municated  by  tlie  prophet.  In  tlie  scliools  of  the 
prophets  at  Bethel,  Jericho,  and  Gilgal,  spiritual  gifts 
were  developed,  religious  exercises  fostered,  and  students 
educated  (I.  Sam.  x  :  10,  xix  :  18-20).  The  prophets  be- 
came priv'y  counselors  of  the  kings,  instructors  of  the 
people,  preachers  of  righteousness,  and  historians  of  the 
nation.  They  afforded  a  counterpoise  to  the  despotism 
of  kings,  to  the  formalism  of  priests,  and  to  the  de- 
generacy of  the  people.  The  line  of  the  prophets  as- 
sumes growing  importance  by  the  side  of  the  line  of  the 
kings  as  the  history  advances,  until  it  culminates  in 
written  prophecy.  The  prophets  take  the  same  attitude 
toward  king  and  people  that  Samuel,  their  great 
founder,  did. 

I.  and  II.  Kings.  The  two  books  were  originally 
one.  The  books  from  Joshua  through  Kings  form  a  con- 
tinuous history  from  the  covenant  people  taking  posses- 
sion of  the  promised  land  unto  the  Babylonian  captivity. 
This  history  seems  to  be  a  compilation  from  many 
records,  and  a  selection,  passing  many  things  we  would 
like  to  know,  choosing  and  dwelling  upon  things  bearing 
upon  their  plan.  The  aim  of  the  books  is  to  show  that 
God  rules  in  history,  that  among  nations  He  follows 
sin  with  punishment  and  repentance  with  deliverance; 
that  He  deals  with  His  covenant  people,  and  pre- 
fers some  kings  to  others,  as  they  keep  or  break  the 
covenant. 

The  two  books  of  Kings  are  divided  as  follows: 

1.  The  Eeign  of  Solomon  (I.  Kings,  i-xi). 

2.  The  Divided  Kingdom,  from  Solomon  to  the  de- 
struction of  the  IS'orthern  Kingdom.  This  is  divided 
into  three  periods: 


THE  E:tifGLISH  BIBLE  263 

(a)  The  period  of  antagonism  of  the  two  kingdoms 
(I.  Kings  xii-xvii). 

(6)  The  period  of  friendly  relation  by  intermarriage 
(I.  Kings  xvii;  11.  Kings  xi). 

(e)  The  period  of  renewed  antagonism  (II.  Kings 
xi-xvii). 

3.  The  surviving  Kingdom  of  Judah  (II.  Kings 
xviii-xxv). 

The  undivided  kingdom,  under  Saul,  David,  and 
Solomon,  lasted  only  one  hundred  and  twenty  years. 
The  divided  kingdoms  lasted  two  hundred  and  thirty 
years  longer,  to  the  fall  of  Samaria,  B.C.  722.  The 
surviving  Kingdom  of  Judah  lasted  one  hundred  and 
thirty-four  years  longer,  to  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem, 
B.C.  588. 

I.  and  II.  Chronicles  form  but  one  book. 

This  book  might  be  kept  to  be  read  last  of  all  the  Old 
Testament;  but  we  shall  read  it  in  sections  with  the 
book  of  Kings,  and  in  connection  with  the  poetic  and 
prophetic  books.  The  name,  ^  ^  Chronicles, "  comes  from 
Jerome,  who  called  it  ^  ^  a  chronicle  of  the  whole  sacred 
history,  from  Adam  to  the  restoration  from  Babylon. ' ' 
It  is  a  more  appropriate  title  than  that  given  in  the 
Septuagint,  ^'the  things  passed  over,"  as  it  is  not  a 
supplement,  but  a  selection  largely  from  the  same  sources 
as  the  other  books,  repeating  many  things  as  well  as 
adding  some,  with  the  special  aim  of  the  compiler  to 
encourage  and  direct  the  returned  exiles  to  reorganize 
their  national  life,  and  especially  their  national  wor- 
ship. The  history  is  largely  confined  to  the  Kingdom 
of  Judah,  and  dwells  more  upon  the  worship  of  the 
Temple  than  upon  the  wars  of  the   kings,  and  gives 


264   MODEEN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

special  emphasis  upon  those  kings  distinguished  for  zeal 
in  worship. 

The  early  chapters  of  genealogy  show  these  poor  exiles 
their  splendid  ancestry,  give  to  families  and  tribes  hints 
of  their  inheritance,  and  to  the  Levites  of  their  rights 
and  duties  in  reestablishing  the  worship  of  the  Temple. 

The  lives  of  David  and  Solomon,  the  great  kings  of 
the  nation's  glory,  are  especially  seen  in  the  light  of 
their  religious  observances.  The  date  of  the  book  is 
evidently  long  after  the  return  from  Babylon,  the 
descendants  of  David  are  traced  until  the  sixth  genera- 
tion after  Zerubbabel  (I.  Chron.  iii :  19),  probably  to 
the  beginning  of  the  Greek  conquest  of  Judea. 

From  these  historical  books  we  will  now  read  the  life 
of  David,  and  in  connection  with  his  life  and  times  we 
will  read  the  five  books  of  Psalms. 

David.  Great  prominence  is  given  to  David  in  the 
Bible.  A  fuller  account  is  given  of  his  life  than  of  any 
other  mere  man,  and  in  his  influence  on  the  nation  and 
the  world  he  is  excelled  only  by  Moses.  Sixteen  chap- 
ters of  I.  Samuel  relate  to  his  life  before  he  came  to  the 
throne,  and  two  whole  books  (II.  Samuel  and  I.  Chron- 
icles) give  his  life  as  a  king.  He  ranks  high  with  the 
great  men  of  other  nations.  He  was  great  as  a  general 
and  statesman.  He  consolidated  the  tribes  into  a  nation, 
and  for  the  first  time  secured  the  undisputed  possession 
of  the  whole  land;  he  spread  his  kingdom  to  the  south 
to  the  river  of  Egypt,  and  to  the  north  to  the  great  river 
Euphrates,  and  was  on  the  eve  of  becoming  a  world  con- 
queror, when  God  checked  him  by  punishing  the  census 
taking.  In  fostering  national  prosperity,  commerce,  and 
art  he  manifested  vigor  and  genius.      He  found  Jeru- 


THE  EIsTGLISH  BIBLE  265 

salem  a  village  of  hovels,  and  left  it  a  city  of  palaces. 
Prom  his  time  it  became  one  of  the  world's  capitals,  and, 
tho  on  no  commanding  position  of  land  or  sea,  it  has  had 
more  important  influence  on  the  world's  history  than 
Thebes  or  Babylon,  Athens  or  Eome.  He  was  great  as 
an  organizer  and  leader:  he  organized  a  great  army, 
kept  it  in  fine  discipline,  and  yet  did  not  withdraw  it 
from  peaceful  employment.  Of  its  twelve  divisions  each 
served  a  month,  and  then  returned  to  the  duties  of  home; 
thus  the  soldier  spirit  was  distributed  and  kept  alive 
throughout  the  kingdom;  in  this  it  was  an  even  better 
system  than  prevails  in  Germany  to-day. 

He  was  specially  enthusiastic  and  happy  in  the  organi- 
zation of  the  worship  of  the  nation.  He  centered  it  in 
the  Tabernacle,  and  so  prepared  it  for  the  Temple.  He 
caught  the  spirit  of  the  Mosaic  enactments  and  carried 
them  out  royally.  The  magnificence  of  the  worship  was 
worthy  of  the  great  nation  he  formed  and  ruled.  The 
single  feature  of  7misic  was  grand  beyond  description. 

Of  the  twelve  divisions  of  the  choir  and  orchestra  each 
served  a  month,  and  then  returned  to  their  homes  in  the 
different  parts  of  the  land;  thus  the  worship  spirit  was 
distributed  and  preserved  alive  throughout  the  kingdom, 
and  the  whole  choir  was  kept  in  fine  training.  Then  on 
the  great  feast  days,  when  the  choice  of  the  whole  nation 
gathered  at  Jerusalem,  the  whole  choir  and  orchestra 
assembled  to  lead  their  worship  of  praise.  The  great 
choir  of  four  thousand  trained  voices  and  the  orchestra 
of  three  hundred  of  all  kinds  of  instruments  led  the 
great  chorus  of  the  whole  nation  in  singing  the  psalms  to 
the  praise  of  God  in  the  open  air  in  the  courts  of  the 
Tabernacle  upon  Mount  Moriah,  and  made  the  bending 


^Q        MODEEN  PRACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

heavens,  the  roof  of  God's  great  temple,  resound  with 
His  praise. 

Bible  Poetry.  There  are  four  kinds  of  poetry  found 
in  the  Bible. 

1.  The  Epic  J  which  describes  action:  a  story  is  told  in 
a  way  to  awaken  the  imagination  and  to  stir  the  feelings. 
The  earliest  bit  of  poetry  of  this  kind  is  the  sword  song 
of  Lamech.  In  Hebrew  the  forms  of  prose  and  poetry 
are  so  near  akin  that  we  may  call  the  story  of  Joseph  an 
epic,  just  as  Goethe  says  Ruth  is  the  finest  idyl  in  lit- 
erature. 

2.  Dramatic^  which  presents  the  actors  who  speak 
for  themselves.  This  is  rare  in  the  Bible  outside  of  Job, 
which  is  a  drama;  also  there  is  some  spiritualized  drama 
in  the  Prophets. 

3.  The  Didactic^  which  clothes  the  truth  taught  in  a 
poetic  garb,  and  sometimes  casts  it  into  a  form  kindred 
to  the  sonnet.     E.g.,  Prov.  i  :  10-19. 

4.  The  Lyric,  which  sings  of  the  reality  that  lies  back 
of  scenes  and  of  all  action.     The  lyric  predominates. 

Hebrew  poetry  is  simple  and  grand,  both  in  form  and 
in  spirit,  and  so  loses  few  of  its  striking  features  by 
translation.  Its  harmony  is  not  of  measured  feet  or 
rhyme,  but  that  of  parallelism  of  thought.  The  poetry  of 
nature,  it  may  be  called;  the  rapid  accumulation  of 
thought  and  feeling  in  some  gifted  souls  results  in  the 
quick  repetition  of  short  sentences,  as  passionate  feelings 
express  themselves  in  quick  breathings,  rapid  heart- 
beats, marching  steps.  The  rhythm  is  like  the  swing  of 
a  pendulum,  like  the  tramp  of  an  army,  like  the  stately 
stride  of  a  king;  short  sentences  step  along  after  each 
other  in  the  march  of  rhythmic  thought. 


THE  EKGLISH   BIBLE  267 

Scripture  poetry  addresses  the  mind's  eye  by  its  pic- 
turesqueness.  Each  poem  is  a  gallery  of  word  paintings, 
charming  the  eye  as  the  natural  rhythm  charms  the  ear. 

Psalm  xxix,  the  Song  of  the  Thunderstorm,  gives  an 
example  of  both  sight  and  sound  harmony.  It  graphically 
pictures  the  majestic  sweep  of  the  storm  as  it  rises  from 
the  great  sea,  sweeps  over  the  mountains  and  passes 
away  into  the  desert.  We  hear  the  seven  thunder  voices 
growing  in  power  and  then  dying  away  in  the  distance. 
Now  the  earth  is  fresh  and  the  sky  clear,  and  everything 
in  the  great  world,  the  Temple  of  God,  cries  ^  ^  Glory  ! ' ' 

The  element  of  poetry  is  very  large  in  the  Bible. 
The  books  Job,  Psalms,  Proverbs,  Song  of  Songs,  and 
Lamentations  are  entirely  poetic.  The  line  between 
poetry  and  prose  being  less  sharply  marked  than  in  our 
English  literature,  those  great  orators,  the  prophets,  not 
infrequently  rise  into  poetic  strains.  Thus  also  in  the 
historic  books  a  vivid  story  sometimes  bursts  forth  from 
prose  into  poetry,  as  the  Song  of  Moses  at  the  Bed  Sea, 
of  Balaam,  and  of  Deborah  and  Barak.  He  who  has 
the  poetic  ear  will  also  gladly  recognize  that  many  say- 
ings of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  are  gems  of  poetry,  radiant 
with  beauty  and  ringing  with  music.  The  preacher  of 
the  Gospel  should  seek  to  clothe  himself  with  the  power 
of  the  orator  and  the  poet,  to  make  men  see  the  truths 
he  preaches,  and  feel  their  fuU  force;  and  to  this  end  he 
should  be  a  diligent  student  of  Bible  Poetry,  and  of  that 
which  is  so  close  akin  to  it — Bible  Oratory. 

While  we  read  the  lives  of  David  and  Solomon  we 
shall  read  the  poetry;  when  we  come  to  the  later  kings 
we  shall  read  the  oratory  of  the  prophets,  with  their 
outbursts  of  poetry. 


268   MODEEN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

The  Psalms.  This  Book  is  the  religious  song-book 
of  Israel.  It  contains  the  varied  experiences  of  God's 
ancient  people  voicing  themselves  in  song.  Milton  says: 
'■  '■  There  are  no  songs  comparable  to  those  of  Zion. ' '  The 
poet  looks  into  his  own  heart,  and  out  upon  the  scenes  of 
nature  and  the  experiences  of  mankind,  and  then  up  into 
the  face  of  God  and  sings.  There  are  varying  moods  of 
faith  and  doubt,  hope  and  despair,  praise  and  prayer, 
often  in  the  same  psalm,  but  the  dominent  note  is  always 
the  worship  of  God. 

The  minister  who  is  to  lead  the  people  in  their  worship 
of  God  should  train  and  incite  himself  to  the  spirit  of 
true  worship  by  a  constantly  growing  familiarity  with 
the  Psalms.  The  book  of  Psalms  is  more  quoted  in  the 
ISTew  Testament  than  any  other  single  book  of  the  Old 
Testament.  It  has  found  a  prominent  place  in  the  pub- 
lic worship  of  the  Christian  Church  of  all  nations  and 
ages.  The  law  is  God's  voice  to  the  soul.  The  Psalms 
are  the  soul's  response.  The  five  books  of  the  Law  are 
God's  fivefold  voice  to  man;  the  five  books  of  the 
Psalms  are  man's  fivefold  response  to  God.  The  Law 
shows  what  religion  ought  to  be;  the  prophets  show 
what  religion  was  not;  the  Psalms  show  what  religion 
was.  That  which  goes  straight  to  the  individual  heart 
to-day  must  have  come  from  the  individual  heart  in  that 
long-ago  day.  The  contrition,  appeal,  praise  of  indi- 
vidual hearts,  become  the  collective  experiences  of  the 
worshiping  people  of  God  in  all  ages. 

There  are  three  grounds  of  judging  the  date  and 
authorship  of  a  psalm: 

1.  The  titles.  These,  while  probably  not  the  work  of 
the  authors,  are  still  very  ancient.     They  are  found  in 


THE  ENGLISH    BIBLE  269 

the  Septuagint  translation,  and  were  probably  written  by 
the  compilers  of  the  five  books. 

2.   The  historical  alhosions  found  in  many  psalms. 

S.  The  style  and  language.  This  is  a  difficult  ground, 
and  decisions  vary,  according  to  the  taste  and  judgment 
of  each  critic.  In  trying  to  live  a  little  while  in  the 
Kingdom  of  David  we  are  probably  in  the  j)salm  country 
and  age.  For  while  the  ninetieth  Psalm's  title  ascribes 
it  to  Moses,  and  while  the  historical  allusion  in  Psalm 
cxxxvii  makes  it  a  psalm  of  the  Babylonian  exile,  the 
weight  of  internal  and  external  evidence  makes  David 
the  great  psalmist. 

The  Psalms  have  their  Golden  Age,  not  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  nation's  worship  nor  in  its  decline;  it  is  the 
days  of  prosperity  and  hope  that  sing  the  praises  of  God. 
The  great  king  gave  the  key-note,  the  praises  of  all  the 
ages  follow,  even  to  our  day. 

The  three  prevailing  ideas  in  Hebrew  life  find  full 
expression  in  the  Psalms. 

1.  God  is  in  covenant  with  man.  Psalm  Ixxxix  is  a  song 
of  the  Covenant. 

2.  The  Messiah  is  the  subject  of  the  Covenant.  Psalm  Ixxii 
is  a  song  of  the  coming  King. 

3.  Bighteousness  is  the  law  of  the  Covenant.  Psalm  cxix 
is  a  song  of  the  Law.  There  is  only  slight  allusion  to  the 
ceremonial  law  and  observances  in  the  Book. 

Three  elements  enter  into  the  Messianic  Psalms. 

1.  The  experimental.  The  Psalmist  expresses  his  own 
experiences  in  a  way  that  more  fully  expresses  the 
deeper  exi^eriences  of  the  Messiah.  Psalm  xxii  is  a  Song 
of  the  Suffering  Messiah. 

2.  The  rapturous.     The  Psalmist,  cherishing  the  prom- 


270    MODEEN  PRACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

ise  of  the  comiug  Messiah,  slugs  of  Him  in  lofty  strains. 
Psalm  xlv  is  a  Song  of  the  Glorious  King. 

8.  The  predictive.  Certain  features  of  the  life  of  the 
Messiah  which  could  only  have  been  foretold  by  the 
spirit  of  God  are  enshrined  in  the  Psalms.  Psalm  xvi 
is  a  Song  of  the  Messiah's  Eesurrection. 

Several  things  should  enter  into  our  consideration  of 
the  Imprecatory  Psalms. 

1.  There  are  only  a  few  among  many — only  six  among 
one  hundred  and  fifty. 

2.  As  inspired  utterances,  they  express  the  righteous 
judgment  of  God  against  sin.  There  are  as  strong  de- 
nunciations in  the  teachings  of  Christ,  and  to  about  the 
same  extent. 

3.  They  express  the  righteous  indignation  of  the  head 
of  the  state  against  the  enemies  of  the  state,  as  our  Presi- 
dent might  denounce  anarchists. 

4.  The  garb  of  these  Psalms,  as  of  all  poetry,  comes 
from  the  age  in  which  the  poet  lived,  many  centuries 
before  Christ. 

5.  The  great  provocation  of  cruel  enemies  awakened  a 
strong  spirit  of  resentment,  and  in  selecting  poetic 
figures  the  poet  reflects  this  spirit. 

In  all  these  elements  these  Psalms  are  the  reverse  of 
the  lax  views  of  sin  prevailing  to-day,  and  form  a  needed 
iron  tonic  for  our  moral  weakness. 

Mahy  psalms  seem  to  have  been  born  of  the  occasion, 
to  be  the  free  and  unpremeditated  outburst  of  great 
genius.  One  of  the  most  stirring  poems  of  our  day, 
Eudyard  Kipling's  ' ^  Eecessional, "  was  so  born.  Psalm 
xlvi,  the  Song  of  Deliverance,  is  evidently  such  a  poem. 
Other  psalms  seem  to  have  been  prepared  with  a  clear 


THE  ENGLISH   BIBLE  271 

purpose  for  Temple  Worship,  and  with  much  artistic 
skill.  They  bear  indications  of  having  been  set  to  music 
and  sung  in  parts,  solo  and  chorus.  Example,  Psalm 
cvii,  the  Song  of  the  Eedeemed.  We  can  but  faintly 
imagine  its  effective  rendering  in  the  open  air  in  the 
courts  of  the  Temple  by  the  great  choir  of  four  thousand 
voices,  with  the  full  orchestra  accompaniment  of  three 
hundred  instruments.  The  Prelude  is  sung  by  a  few 
strong  voices,  with  trumpet  accompaniment,  to  prepare 
for  the  great  theme.  Then  the  succession  of  strophes, 
the  description  of  distress,  the  cry  for  help,  the  great 
deliverance,  the  call  for  praise,  are  rendered  with  suit- 
able voices  and  instruments.  Four  of  these  strophes, 
^^  The  Travelers,'^  ^^  The  Prisoners,"  '^  The  Sick,"  ^^The 
Sailors,"  succeed  each  other  with  increasing  power. 
Then  the  whole  culminates  in  the  grand  chorus  sung  by 
the  full  choir  and  the  entire  congregation,  with  all 
the  instruments  of  music  sounding  the  praises  of  the 
redeemed. 

The  Song  of  the  Law  (Psalm  cxix)  is  wrought  out  with 
great  elaboration  of  form,  but  secures  also  much  of  the 
free  spirit  of  song.  It  is  an  acrostic  of  groups  of  eight 
verses,  and  each  verse,  with  a  single  exception,  gives 
some  title  or  description  of  the  law  of  God. 

In  the  last  book  of  Psalms  there  are  three  groups :  (1) 
the  Hallel  (Psalms  cxiii-cxviii),  sung  at  the  great  feasts, 
especially  at  the  Passover,  and  which  was  probably  the 
hymn  which  our  Lord  and  his  disciples  sang  when  they 
left  the  upper  room  after  the  institution  of  the  Lord's 
Supper;  (2)  the  Songs  of  Ascents  (Psalms  cxx-cxxxv), 
used  by  the  pilgrims  from  all  parts  of  the  land  as  they 
ascended  to  the  great  feasts  at  Jerusalem j  and  (3)  the 


272    MODEEN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

Hallelujah  (Psalms  cxlvi-cl),  in  wMcli  the  exultant 
spirit  of  worship  culminates  in  a  great  outburst  of  praise 
to  Jehovah. 

Selah,  Gittith,  and  kindred  interjections,  or  annota- 
tions, are  Hebrew  words  so  ancient  and  technical  that 
their  meaning  can  not  be  fully  ascertained;  they  are 
probably  musical  terms,  some  of  them  names  of  tunes, 
others  directions  for  instruments,  and  so  they  become  to 
us,  with  their  dim  memories,  a  kind  of  telephone  to  con- 
vey to  our  listening  ears  the  strains  of  distant  music  in 
the  Temple  courts  of  old  Jerusalem. 

In  the  early  Church  the  book  of  Psalms  was  the  first 
book  put  into  the  hands  of  her  young  converts,  and  no 
one  could  be  admitted  to  the  ministry  of  the  Word 
unless  he  knew  the  Psalter  by  heart.  The  book  should 
be  the  constant  study  of  the  minister,  and  many  of  its 
choice  passages  should  be  committed  to  memory;  it  will 
quicken  his  experience  of  the  Divine  grace  and  greatly 
enrich  his  preaching,  and  especially  his  prayers,  as  he 
leads  the  people  in  the  public  worship  of  God. 

Israel  was  one  kingdom,  and  very  prosperous  under 
David,  the  Great,  the  Warrior,  the  Psalmist,  and  under 
Solomon,  the  King  of  Peace,  the  Magnificent,  the  Wise. 
This  short  age  was  the  culmination  of  four  centuries  of 
advancing  civilization,  and  it  gave  rise  to  two  results  of 
great  influence  on  the  life  of  the  nation  in  all  its  future: 

1.  ^he  Temple.  The  idea  of  the  Tabernacle,  the 
Dwelling-place  of  God,  the  Palace  of  their  Heavenly 
King,  who  abode  in  the  Holiest  Place,  was  continued. 

2.  The  Literature.  Prosperity  singing  its  songs  of 
praise  is  the  prevalent  note  of  the  Psalms.  David  was 
the  great  psalmist,  tho  there  were  many  others. 


THE   E:J^GLISH   bible  273 

The  Wisdom  Literature.  Wise  sayings  arise  in 
prosperous  times  from  the  experience  of  the  past  and  its 
results.  It  is  natural,  therefore,  to  find  in  Solomon,  the 
Wise  King,  the  leading  writer  of  Hebrew  gnomic  phi- 
losophy, tho  he  was  followed  by  many  other  writers  of 
sententious  literature. 

The  Proverbs.  The  philosophy  of  the  Bible  is  di- 
rected in  concise  sayings  to  the  conduct  of  life.  The 
absence  of  allusions  to  Israel's  national  position  and 
distinctive  religious  observances  shows  the  practical 
bearing  of  religion  upon  universal  life  and  conduct.  If 
one  to-day  aims  to  be  a  good  statesman,  or  to  excel  in 
business,  here  is  a  manual  of  wise  sayings  well  worth  his 
careful  attention. 

Proverbs  arise  in  two  ways:  (1)  A  wise  observer  of 
the  experience  of  mankind  forms  the  epigrams  from  his 
own  reflection.  The  first  nine  chapters  of  Proverbs  are 
of  this  kind;  they  form  a  poem  in  praise  of  wisdom 
composed  of  eighteen  sonnets. 

2.  The  general  experience  of  mankind  through  the 
ages  voices  itself  in  wise  sayings,  and  the  collector  sim- 
ply separates  them  from  the  common  place.  The  re- 
mainder of  Proverbs  is  largely  of  this  kind,  tho  there 
are  found  a  few  sonnets  in  it,  especially  the  closing  praise 
of  the  virtuous  woman. 

Ecclesiastes.  The  philosophy  of  the  Bible  is  directed 
to  the  meaning  of  life  in  its  general  aim.  The  fii^st  half 
of  Ecclesiastes  shows  that  the  pursuit  of  knowledge, 
pleasure,  or  profit  of  any  kind,  as  an  end  in  itself,  is 
vanity.  The  second  half  shows  that  the  moderate  enjoy- 
ment of  these  things,  by  a  being  responsible  to  God,  is 
wisdom.     The  dignity  of  man  is  his  accountability  to 


274         MODEElSr  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

God.  The  book  closes  with  a  symbolic  poem  of  old  age, 
making  the  disagreeable  features  of  declining  life  grace- 
ful by  symbolic  dress. 

The  Song  of  Songs  is  a  poem  of  pure  wedded  love, 
the  greatest  and  best  love-song  of  all  literature.  It 
throbs  with  passion. 

The  King  has  made  a  love  match,  and  he  and  his 
bride  can  not  fully  express  their  feelings  for  each  other. 
He  won  the  lowly  maiden  disguised  as  a  lowly  shepherd; 
this  poem  expresses  their  mutual  feelings  when,  having 
brought  his  bride  to  Jerusalem,  he  throws  off  his  dis- 
guise, and  she  learns  she  is  the  bride  of  the  great 
King.  It  is  a  poem  especially  dear  to  Christians,  because, 
while  not  at  all  allegorical,  it  beautifully  illustrates  the 
marriage  of  the  greater  King  and  His  more  lowly  bride 
— Christ  and  His  Church. 

Job  probably  belongs  to  the  palmy  age  of  Hebrew 
literature,  tho  there  is  the  complete  absence  of  all  refer- 
ence to  past  history  or  to  present  conditions,  while  the 
whole  atmosphere  is  of  a  time  before  Abraham.  It  is  a 
masterpiece  of  poetry.  Carlyle  says:  ^^I  call  the  book 
of  Job  one  of  the  grandest  things  ever  written  by  pen. ' ' 
Froude  says:  ^'It  towers  up  alone  far  above  all  the 
poetry  of  the  world."  Daniel  Webster  says:  ^^It  is 
the  most  wonderful  production  of  any  age  or  of  any 
language."  Schaff  says:  ^^Considering  its  antiquity 
and\rtistic  perfection,  it  rises  like  a  pyramid  in  the  his- 
tory of  literature,  without  a  predecessor  and  without  a 
rival."  It  is  the  nearest  to  pure  drama  of  any  poetry 
in  the  Bible;  the  poet  presents  the  actors,  and  they 
speak  their  thoughts  and  do  their  deeds. 

God  is  the  principal   person  in  the  Bible,   and  the 


THE  ENGLISH   BIBLE  275 

Bible  poets  instinctively  feel  the  inappropriateness  of  a 
drama  where  this  principal  person  is  either  brought  for- 
ward or  left  out.  The  scene  of  Job  is  in  the  open  air. 
The  stage  is  not  only  the  earth  but  the  heavens.  The 
friends  and  Job  reason  together.  One  friend  at  length 
describes  the  rising  of  a  storm,  and  then  the  unseen  God 
speaks  from  the  wind- driven  clouds.  This  simple  but 
majestic  drama  is  upon  the  colossal  theme  of  the  great 
suffering  of  a  righteous  man.  The  five  solutions  offered 
are: 

1.  It  is  a  test  of  character  (chapters  i-iii). 

2.  It  is  a  punishment  of  sin  (chapters  iv-xxxi). 

3.  It  is  a  discipline  out  of  sin  (chapters  xxxii- 
xxxvii). 

4.  It  is  a  part  of  the  mysterious  plan  and  work  of 
God  (chapters  xxxviii-xli). 

5.  It  leads  to  the  triumph  of  the  righteous  man 
(chapter  xlii). 

The  drama  culminates  in  the  speech  of  God  from  the 
whirlwind,  and  in  his  rewarding  Job. 

The  Prophets.  The  great  Kingdom  of  David  and 
Solomon  lasted  nearly  a  hundred  years,  and  was  then 
divided.  It  formed  two  kingdoms,  each  becoming 
strong  and  prosperous.  The  northern  kingdom  was  the 
larger  and  more  favorably  situated.  It  was  called  the 
Kingdom  of  Israel,  and  Samaria  was  its  capital.  The 
southern  kingdom,  tho  smaller,  lasted  longer  j  it  was 
called  the  Kingdom  of  Judah,  and  Jerusalem  was  its 
capital.  Prophets  of  speech  and  action  abound  through 
all  the  history  5  the  great  prophets  Elijah  and  Elisha  are 
in  the  Kingdom  of  Israel.  Written  prophecy  begins 
some  two  hundred  years  after  Solomon  j    it  gives  us 


276        MODEEN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

mainly  the  speeclies  of  sixteen  prophets,  or  sketches  of 
their  speeches,  probably  written  by  themselves  after 
delivering. 

The  object  of  all  the  prophets  was  to  impress  upon  the 
people  the  presence  of  the  righteous  God  and  to  awaken 
loyalty  to  Him.  The  tendency  of  revelation  is  to  be- 
come largely  a  memory.  The  prophets  felt  the  God 
who  had  revealed  Himself  in  the  past  was  present  with 
them,  the  same  God,  and  they  tried  to  make  kings  and 
people  feel  this  as  well.  They  were  preachers  of  right- 
eousness. The  spirit  of  general  prediction  prevails,  that 
righteousness  is  followed  by  prosperity,  wickedness  by 
adversity.  They  were  men  of  their  own  times,  applying 
righteousness  to  present  affairs.  They  were  seers,  seeing 
to  the  heart  of  things,  and  thus  they  were  men  beyond 
their  times  and  of  all  times,  preachers  of  righteousness 
to  the  world.  Besides,  they  were  seers  of  the  future. 
God  revealed  to  them  many  future  events,  and  this,  they 
claimed,  was  the  manifest  token  that  He  had  sent  them. 
This  prediction  of  special  events  is,  however,  not  a  large 
element  of  their  speeches,  tho  it  is  of  very  striking 
character. 

The  more  severe  we  make  the  standard  of  prediction, 
the  more  clear  it  becomes  that  God  alone  could  have 
known  the  future  so  clearly  and  must  have  revealed  it  to 
them.     There  may  be  six  rules  applied  to  this  prediction: 

l.v  The  prediction  must  not  be  the  result  of  reasoning, 
as  Napoleon's  saying:  ^'In  fifty  years  Europe  will  be 
Republican  or  Cossack." 

2.  It  must  not  be  the  result  of  historical  study,  as 
Macaulay's  saying:  ^'A  New  Zealander  will  muse  over 
the  ruins  of  London, ' ' 


THE   ENGLISH   BIBLE  277 

3.  It  must  not  be  the  result  of  a  happy  conjecture,  as 
the  prediction  of  the  marriage  of  a  theological  student. 

4.  It  must  not  be  ambiguous  and  obscure,  as  the  mut- 
terings  of  the  oracle  at  Delphi. 

5.  It  must  not  be  the  result  of  scientific  calculation,  as 
the  captain  of  a  steamship  saying:  ^^In  four  hours  we 
shall  see  land. ' ' 

6.  It  must  not  be  a  rapturous  vision  or  a  fanatical 
denunciation  of  a  patriot. 

Applying  these  tests,  it  is  clearly  seen  that  many  pre- 
dictions of  the  prophets  must  have  been  spoken  through 
them  by  the  God  who  had  the  future  in  His  hand.  Still, 
our  main  study  of  them  is  as  preachers  of  righteousness, 
that  we  may  apply  their  method  and  spirit  to  the 
preaching  of  righteousness  in  our  life-work. 

The  prophets  are  grouped  locally. 

Of  the  sixteen  only  three  are  of  the  northern  King- 
dom of  Israel,  and  of  these  three  only  one  was  both  of 
Israel  and  to  Israel.  Amos  was  from  Judah  to  Israel j 
Jonah  was  from  Israel  to  Xineveh;  only  Hosea  was  both 
from  Israel  to  Israel.  The  remaining  thirteen  prophets 
belonged  to  the  Kingdom  of  Judah. 

The  prophets  are  grouped  in  point  of  time. 

(1)  The  group  of  the  time  of  prosperity.  In  Israel: 
Amos,  Jonah,  Hosea.  In  Judah:  Obadiah,  Joel,  Micah, 
Xahum,  and  Isaiah — eight  in  all. 

(2)  The  group  of  the  time  of  adversity.  Zephaniah, 
Habakkuk,  Jeremiah,  Ezekiel,  and  Daniel — five  in  all. 

3.  The  group  of  the  Eestoration.  Haggai,  Zechariah, 
and  Malachi — three  in  all. 

Three  literary  forms  are  used  by  the  prophets: 
1.  The  most  prominent  and  most  prevalent  is  oratory. 


278    MODEEN  PEACTIOAL  THEOLOGY 

The  prophets  were,  first  of  all,  prea<;hers;  several  of 
them  were  ideal  preachers.  They  are  worthy  of  our 
careful  study  as  orators,  that  we  may  become  stimulated 
and  cultured  in  pulpit  delivery. 

2.  The  fervid  oratory  frequently  flowers  forth  in  poetry. 
The  orator  becomes  rapt  and  soars  aloft,  and  frequently 
this  poetry  is  lyric  poetry — it  may  be  sung. 

3.  The  rapt  orator  rises  into  lofty  personifications  and 
dialog,  and  in  rare  instances  the  sphere  of  oratory  is  left 
for  that  of  pure  drama.  Classes  of  people,  as  Israel  and 
the  Nations;  states  of  feeling,  as  Repentance  and  Loy- 
alty; the  land,  the  mountains,  rivers,  seas;  these  are 
personified;  the  prophet,  and  the  great  God  Himself, 
act  their  great  parts,  and  speak  forth  to  each  other  their 
thoughts,  feelings,  and  purposes. 

Prophets  of  Prosperity.  In  the  time  of  prosperity 
the  kingdoms  of  Judah  and  Israel  were  in  a  flourishing 
condition.  Jerusalem  and  Samaria  were  large,  splendid, 
and  luxuriant  capital  cities.  There  was  little  outward 
sign  of  decay,  but  there  was  much  political  and  moral 
corruption.  The  prophets  of  this  period  saw  the  inner 
corruption  and  growing  weakness,  and  endeavored  to 
arouse  the  people  to  righteousness  by  rebukes  and  threat- 
enings. 

Amos.  At  least  two  hundred  years  have  intervened 
sinee  the  time  of  Solomon.  The  two  kingdoms  are  now 
at  variance;  they  are  not  in  open  warfare,  but  are  dis- 
trustful and  suspicious.  Amos,  living  south  of  Jerusa- 
lem, feels  the  call  of  God  to  preach  righteousness  to  the 
northern  kingdom,  and  obeys.  Coming  from  the  south- 
ern kingdom,  he  has  the  difficult  task  to  win  a  hearing 
in  the  Kingdom  of  Israel.     His  introduction  to  his  one 


THE   ENGLISH   BIBLE  279 

speech,  or  to  his  series  of  speeches,  is  one  of  the  most 
skilful  in  all  the  history  of  oratory.  He,  as  a  prophet, 
announces  the  judgment  of  God  upon  the  surrounding 
nations  for  their  unrighteousness,  and  the  conscience, 
and  especially  the  national  feeling,  of  the  people  of  Israel 
approve  him;  he  even  goes  so  far  as  to  threaten  judg- 
ment against  the  rival  Kingdom  of  Judah  from  which  he 
came,  and  the  people  applaud. 

Having  won  a  hearing,  and  having  appealed  to  the 
conscience,  he  now  applies  his  message  to  the  Kingdom 
of  Israel  itself.  The  introduction  covers  the  first  two 
chapters.  The  next  four  chapters  show  faithfully  the 
corruption  ripe  for  judgment.  The  last  three  chapters 
vividly  depict  the  visions  of  the  judgment  of  God  ad- 
vancing upon  this  corruption.  Amos  puts  the  emphasis 
of  his  preaching  upon  the  justice  of  God. 

Hosea.  While  the  visit  of  Amos  to  Israel  was  prob- 
ably very  short,  Hosea  lived  in  Samaria.  He  is  the 
only  one  of  the  prophets  who  is  both  of  Israel  and  to 
Israel.  It  is  probable  that  Hosea  had  a  faithless  wife 
whom  he  could  not  cease  to  love,  and,  reflecting  upon 
his  own  sad  experience,  he  saw  it  was  but  a  faint  illus- 
tration of  the  experience  of  God  with  the  Kingdom  of 
Israel  for  over  two  hundred  years.  There  was  logical 
arrangement  in  Amos;  there  is  little  logic  in  Hosea,  but 
swift  transitions  of  conflicting  emotions,  the  tone  of  pas- 
sionate anguish  and  love  in  appeals  and  upbraidings. 
There  were  many  speeches  of  Hosea  probably,  and  we 
have  sketches  of  his  frequent  appeals  gathered  in  his 
book.  As  he  speaks  for  God,  two  strong  figures  prevail, 
a  faithless  wife  and  a  thankless  child,  and  the  prophecy 
shows  forth  alternately  the  burning  indignation  of  God 


280    MODEEN  PKACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

and  his  quenchless  love,  as  wronged  Husband  and 
Father.  As  the  parable  of  the  Prodigal  Son  is  the  heart 
of  the  Kew  Testament,  so  Hosea  Is  the  heart  of  the  Old 
Testament,  only  in  the  "New  Testament  there  is  success, 
here  there  is  failure.  The  last  appeal  is  made,  and  God's 
yearning  love  fails  to  win  back  the  Kingdom  of  Israel 
from  destruction.  Hosea  places  the  emphasis  of  his 
preaching  upon  the  love  of  God. 

Jonah.  The  book  is  unique,  in  that  it  is  the  story  of 
a  prophet  rather  than  a  collection  of  his  prophecies,  and 
that  this  prophet  is  sent  to  a  heathen  nation.  The 
flight,  the  prayer,  and  the  mission  are  the  marked  divi- 
sions of  the  short  book.  The  book  itself  seems  significant 
of  the  Jewish  nation,  of  its  flight  from  its  mission,  of  its 
marvelous  preservation  to  this  day;  and  it  is  prophetic 
of  Israel  at  length  becoming  the  messenger  of  Christ,  and 
bringing  about  the  conversion  of  the  Gentiles. 

We  now  turn  to  the  five  prophets  of  the  time  of  pros- 
perity who  lived  and  preached  in  the  southern  king- 
dom, in  Judah. 

Joel.  Two  hundred  years  have  passedj  the  family  of 
David  is  reigning  in  Jerusalem;  the  city  is  magnificent; 
the  Temple  of  Solomon  is  the  glory  of  the  nation.  The 
kingdom  is  outwardly  prosperous,  inwardly  corrupt; 
the  worship  of  God  is  formal  and  tainted  with  idolatry. 
Joel  speaks  in  Jerusalem  in  a  lofty  form  of  poetic  ora- 
tory, a  kind  of  rhapsody;  he  gives  a  picture  of  the  com- 
ing trouble  as  it  impresses  itself  upon  and  is  described 
by  different  classes  of  people.  His  vivid  figure  of  ad- 
vancing judgment,  as  an  incursion  of  locusts,  insensibly 
changes  into  a  metaphor  of  armies,  the  land  before  them 
as  the  garden  of  Eden,  behind  them  a  desolate  wilder- 


THE  E]S"GLISH   BIBLE  281 

ness.  In  the  presence  of  these  armies  God  calls  to  re- 
pentance, promises  spiritual  blessings,  and  proclaims 
the  general  judgment  for  all  nations. 

Obadiah  has  some  remarkable  resemblances  to  Joel; 
cf.  Joel  iii :  3  c.  Ob.  11 ;  Joel  iii :  14  c.  Ob.  15.  It  is  the 
shortest  book  in  the  Old  Testament,  and  is  directed 
against  Edom  as  rejoicing  over  Judah.  It  is  not  like 
Jonah,  a  prophecy  to  a  heathen  nation;  all  prophecies 
against  heathen  nations  were  given  to  the  nation  of 
Judah  teaching  them  of  punishment  by  heathen  nations 
used  by  God,  but  that  these  heathen  nations  were  not 
therefore  approved  by  Him. 

Micah  lived  in  the  country  to  the  southwest  of  Jeru- 
salem. He  saw  the  embassies  going  down  to  Egypt  to 
secure  favor.  He  witnessed  the  illegal  land -grabbing  of 
the  rich  about  him.  Feeling  called  of  God  to  rebuke 
this  wickedness,  he  goes  to  Jerusalem.  There  he  wit- 
nessed the  corruption  of  the  rulers,  and  the  luxury  and 
licentiousness  of  the  nobles.  He  boldly  denounced  both 
leaders  and  people,  and  preached  righteousness  in  all 
the  relations  of  life.  He  is  the  prophet  of  equality  and 
fraternity,  and  predicted  that  the  Messiah  would  come 
from  the  ranks  of  the  lowly. 

Nahum  prophesies  altogether  against  Mneveh,  the 
triumphant  heathen  power  threatening  Judah.  This 
prophecy  is  not  sent  to  Kineveh,  but  given  to  Judah,  as 
in  all  such  cases  to  show  that  God  does  not  approve  the 
nations  he  uses,  but  punishes  unrighteousness  in  his  own 
time  and  way  wherever  it  is  found. 

Nahum  describes  the  Lord's  majesty  as  He  marshals 
the  forces  to  destroy  Nineveh,  the  meeting  of  the  be- 
siegers and  the  besieged,  and  the  complete  destruction 


282    MODEEN  PRACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

of  the  city.  His  prophecy,  ^^I  will  make  thy  grave/' 
after  a  few  centuries  became  true,  and  remains  true  to 
this  day.  The  excavations  of  modern  times  in  Nineveh 
simply  unearth  the  skeleton  of  the  empire  then  threaten- 
ing Judah. 

Isaiah  was  the  greatest  orator  and  poet  of  his  day;  he 
was  probably  of  the  nobility,  a  man  of  rich  natural  gifts, 
having  all  the  polish  of  the  court.  He  was  fifty  years  a 
preacher  of  righteousness — a  young  man  when  he  was 
called  upon  to  preach  against  the  luxury  and  profligacy 
of  his  time,  a  middle-aged  man  when  he  described  the 
doom  of  Samaria  and  its  lessons,  and  the  old  man  elo- 
quent when  he  encouraged  the  people  against  Sen- 
nacherib. 

The  style  of  his  oratory  is  well  worth  our  study.  It 
was  concise,  to  the  point,  bright  with  the  frequent  use  of 
interrogation  and  dialog,  filled  with  striking  contrasts, 
adorned  with  many  beautiful  figures  of  speech  and  illus- 
trations, abounding  in  wide  and  lofty  thought  and  strong 
feeling,  and  clothed  in  choice  language.  His  methods 
were  varied:  he  adapted  himself  to  circumstances;  the 
eloquent  court  preacher  became  the  popular  street 
preacher,  and  did  at  times  the  most  extraordinary  things 
to  arouse  the  sluggish  and  make  his  message  effective. 
He  had  the  orator's  instinct;  he  spoke  for  a  purpose,  and 
gave  himself  up  fully  to  accomplish  his  purpose.  Many 
of  his  speeches  were  to  crowds  in  the  Temple  courts. 

His  book  is  divided  into  two  parts:  The  first  part 
(chapters  i-xxxix)  is  a  collection  of  orations  given  on 
various  occasions  in  his  long  life,  with  some  historical 
references. 

The  second  part  (chapters  xl-lxvi)  seems  a  continu- 


THE  ENGLISH   BIBLE  283 


ous  composition,  a  mingling  of  eloquent  prose  and  poetry, 
written  to  cheer  the  pious  in  the  coming  captivity.  We 
do  not  believe  there  were  two  Isaiahs — the  marvel  is 
that  there  should  have  been  one. 

The  servant  idea  is  a  striking  feature  of  both  parts  of 
this  book,  the  faint  strain  referring  to  himself  (xx  :  3) 
becomes  stronger  in  Eliakim  (xxii  :  21),  in  all  Israel 
(xlii),  in  the  faithful  and  true  Israel  (xliv),  until  it  rings 
out  clear,  and  culminates  in  the  mysterious  person  who 
makes  atonement  for  his  people  and  brings  in  the  final 
glory  (liii-lxvi). 

The  title  of  God,  ^^  The  Holy  One  of  Israel,"  is  pecul- 
iar to  Isaiah,  and  sounds  through  both  parts  of  the  whole 
book  as  the  echo  of  the  cry  of  the  seraphim  at  the  call 
of  the  prophet.  He  places  the  emphasis  of  his  teaching 
upon  the  redeeming  love  of  God. 

Isaiah  stands  midway  between  Moses  and  Christ,  and 
he  is  more  frequently  quoted  by  Christ  and  His  apostles 
than  any  other  single  writer  of  the  Old  Testament  j  no 
other  Old  Testament  writer  so  fully  anticipates  the  truth 
at  last  revealed  in  the  Gospels. 

Prophets  of  the  time  of  Adversity.  We  now  pass 
to  the  five  prophets  of  the  time  of  adversity.  They  all 
belong  to  the  Kingdom  of  Judah.  About  one  hundred 
years  had  passed  since  Isaiah  spoke.  The  Kingdom  of 
Israel  had  been  entirely  destroyed.  Hungry-eyed  enemies 
were  now  gathering  around  the  Kingdom  of  Judah,  while 
its  corruption  and  weakness  were  preparing  it  for  their 
easy  prey.  The  prophets,  before  its  fall,  endeavored  to 
arouse  the  people  to  repentance  j  and  when  the  fall  came 
they  endeavored  to  keep  alive  faith  in  God.  Jerusalem 
for  many  years  tottered  to  its  destruction  j  it  was  cap- 


284    MODEEN  PRACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

tured  three  times,  each  time  rose  in  rebellion,  and  at  last 
was  ruthlessly  destroyed. 

Zephaniah  spoke  in  Jerusalem  just  before  the  first 
capture  of  the  city.  He  is  the  herald  of  the  coming 
storm,  he  reveals  as  by  a  flash  the  corruption  that  pre- 
vails, and  he  graphically  describes  the  darkness  of  the 
coming  judgment — first  upon  Judah,  then  upon  all 
nations  (chapter  i-iii :  8).  Then  the  night  of  storm 
passes  and  the  day  of  salvation  dawns — first  for  Judah, 
then  for  all  nations  (chapter  iii :  9-20).  His  vivid  depic- 
tion of  the  day  of  the  Lord's  wrath  (i :  14-18)  is  the 
basis  of  the  great  hymn  of  the  middle  ages,  ^'  Dies  irae, 
dies  ilia.''''  The  description  which  closes  the  book,  of 
the  glorious  appearing  of  the  Lord  bringing  salvation, 
is  equally  sublime. 

Habakkuk  speaks  in  Jerusalem  when  the  blows  are 
beginning  to  fall  upon  the  devoted  city,  probably  in  the 
reign  of  Jehoiakim.  He  is  greatly  perplexed  that  God 
should  give  the  victory  to  an  idolatrous  nation  so  much 
worse  than  Judah,  and  in  the  first  chapter  he  expostu- 
lates with  God. 

In  the  second  chapter  God  gives  him  a  vision  from  his 
^^watch-tower"  that  the  foe  is  drunk  with  power,  and 
assures  him  that  ^  '■  the  j  ust  shall  live  by  faith. ' '  He  then 
pours  forth  wo  after  wo  upon  the  triumphant  idolaters, 
and  closes  in  the  third  chapter  with  a  hymn  of  splendid 
faith  in  God,  however  great  the  trials.  He  is  a  rapt 
orator,  rising  into  flights  of  lofty  poetry  and  rhapsody, 
and  his  aim  is  to  sustain  the  faith  of  the  pious  in  their 
sore  trials  from  his  own  deep  experiences  as  taught  by 
God.  Daniel  Webster  says:  '^  There  is  no  writer,  ancient 
or  modern,  more  poetic  than  Habakkuk." 


THE  EIlTGLISH   BIBLE  285 

Jeremiah  preached  righteousness  for  over  forty  years, 
mainly  in  Jerusalem.  His  book  gives  many  of  his  ora- 
tions in  a  setting  of  personal  and  national  history.  He 
was  an  orator  of  great  power,  and  often  enforced  his  ap- 
peals with  dramatic  and  symbolic  action.  Beginning 
his  work  in  the  reign  of  Josiah,  he  lived  through  the 
various  captures  of  Jerusalem,  witnessed  its  total  destruc- 
tion, and  was  then  carried  into  Egyj)t,  where  he  died. 
He  endeavored  to  persuade  the  King  and  the  people  to 
submit  to  Babylon,  and  patiently  to  bear  the  just  pun- 
ishment of  their  sins;  for  this  distasteful  message  he  was 
often  persecuted.  Naturally  of  a  sensitive  and  timid 
disposition,  and  a  great  lover  of  his  nation,  he  faithfully 
gave  the  message  God  sent  through  him  in  the  face  of 
great  personal  unpopularity  and  grave  danger.  He 
treats  largely  of  individual  religion  and  of  God's  care  of 
trusting  souls. 

Lamentations  is  a  descrii)tion  evidently  by  an  eye- 
witness of  the  desolation  of  Jerusalem.  Poetry  and 
oratory  are  closely  akin,  and  the  great  orator  may  have 
been  the  great  poet  as  well.  The  poem  is  the  dirge  of  a 
city  in  five  songs  or  laments. 

The  first  describes  the  desolation  in  terrible  details. 

The  second  shows  the  cause  of  the  calamity  to  be  God's 
wrath. 

The  third  is  the  climax  :  the  city  itself,  the  great 
sufferer,  moans  out  her  distress. 

The  fourth  contrasts  the  prosperity  of  the  past  with 
the  adversity  of  the  present. 

The  fifth  is  the  great  sufferer' s  agonizing  prayer. 

The  poem  has  thus  its  crescendo,  its  climax,  and  its 
decrescendo  movement,  and  sobs  itself  into  silence. 


286    MODEEN  PEACTIOAL  THEOLOGY 

Tlio  filled  with  so  great  meaning,  it  is  most  artificial 
in  form,  as  is  often  the  case  in  Hebrew  poetry.  The 
first  four  laments  are  an  acrostic  in  form,  the  climax 
being  a  threefold  acrostic. 

Ezekiel  was  one  of  the  captives  of  Judah  carried  to 
Babylon.  He  is  the  only  one  of  the  great  prophets  who 
spoke  entirely  ontside  of  Judea.  He  had  probably  heard 
Jeremiah  in  Jerusalem,  and,  while  Jeremiah  remained  in 
his  native  land,  the  captive  Ezekiel  became  a  preacher 
of  righteousness  to  the  exiles  in  Babylon.  The  captives 
were  scattered  in  small  settlements  in  Babylonia ;  they 
were  downcast  at  their  own  situation,  but  hopeful  of 
return,  as  they  thought  it  impossible  that  their  great  God 
would  allow  Jerusalem  and  His  temple  to  be  destroyed. 
Eumors  spread  among  them  that  Ezekiel  had  had  a 
vision  calling  him  to  be  a  prophet.  Under  the  circum- 
stances the  only  way  to  consult  him  is  to  send  delegates 
to  his  home.  So,  while  Jeremiah  preaches  to  excited 
crowds  in  the  Temple  Courts  in  Jerusalem,  Ezekiel 
speaks  to  small  groups  of  elders,  who  come  to  ask  him: 
^ '  Have  you  any  message  from  God  ?  When  will  we  re- 
turn to  Jerusalem  !  " 

The  first  part  of  the  work  (chapters  i-xxxii)  contains 
sketches  of  speeches  given  before  the  fall  of  Jerusalem  to 
warn  the  people  against  false  hopes  of  its  preservation 
and  of  their  return. 

The  second  part  (chapters  xxxiii-xlviii),  given  after 
news  reaches  them  of  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem, 
cheers  the  people  with  promises  of  a  glorious  future. 
The  great  vision  of  God  pervades  the  whole  workj  it  is 
first  seen  in  the  call  of  the  prophet  and  fully  described  j 
then  it  is  seen  in  the  gradual  departure  of  the  Lord  from 


THE  ENGLISH  BIBLE  287 

the  Temple  and  the  city  (chapters  ix-xi);  and  it  appears 
again  in  the  Lord's  return  to  the  Temple  (chapter  xliii). 
The  glorious  new  Temple  and  new  city  seem  beyond  the 
horizon  of  the  earth.  Ezekiel  combats  the  idea  that  the 
people  suffered  for  the  sins  of  their  fathers  (xviii :  2), 
and  were  under  a  curse  no  repentance  could  remove 
(xxxiii :  10) ;  the  new  order  is  to  be  based  on  individual 
heart  religion;  God  is  equally  just  to  all,  and  He  also 
renews  the  heart.  As  an  orator  Ezekiel  abounds  in 
great  visions  (chapter  xxxvii),  symbolic  actions  (chap- 
ters iv,  v),  highly  figurative  language  (chapter  xxvii), 
and  glowing  hopes. 

Daniel  is  a  fragmentary  history  of  Daniel  in  Babylon, 
with  description  of  the  prophetic  visions  given  him.  The 
first  half  of  the  book  contains  six  striking  incidents,  the 
last  half  four  great  prophetic  \asions.  There  was  great 
danger  that  the  knowledge  and  worship  of  Jehovah 
would  be  swept  off  the  earth.  The  six  striking  incidents 
occurring  in  the  capital  of  triumphant  idolatry  with 
cumulative  power  show  that  Jehovah  still  lives;  they  im- 
press the  heathen  nation,  and  keep  alive  the  faith  of  the 
captives. 

The  visions  show  that  God  rules  among  the  nations. 
It  is  difficult  to  find  a  flaw  in  the  life  of  Daniel;  he  was 
great  and  good,  a  captive,  still  the  prime  minister  of  suc- 
cessive dynasties  throughout  his  long  life;  his  prayer 
shows  his  consciousness  of  sin  before  God. 

Esther  gives  us  a  picture  of  the  times  following  those 
of  Jeremiah,  Ezekiel,  and  Daniel;  and,  tho  the  name  of 
God  is  not  mentioned.  His  presence  is  felt. 

Ahasuerus  is  identified  with  Xerxes,  who  succeeded 
Darius  in  485,  and  reigned  over  Persia  twenty  years. 


288    MODEEX  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

Between  the  tliird  year  of  his  reign,  when  he  made 
the  feast  (Esther  i:3).  and  the  seventh  year  when 
Esther  was  made  queen  i^ii:  16  j  the  battles  of  Thermop- 
yhie  and  Salamis  were  fought  (4S0  b.c),  saving  Greece 
from  Persian  power.  Xerxes  was  capricious,  passionate, 
and  stibject  to  the  influence  of  court  favorites.  It  is 
worthy  of  note  that  the  thi^ee  most  marked  instances  of 
particular  Providence  in  the  Old  Testament,  Joseph, 
Daniel,  and  Esther.  occtUTed  dming  the  reigns  of  the 
most  powerful  and  arbiti^^y  kings. 

The  prophets  of  the  time  of  Restoration  are  to 
be  read  in  connection  with  the  history  of  that  time. 
Ezra  and  Xehemiah.  cotmted  as  but  one  lx>ok  in  the  He- 
brew, give  the  account  of  the  return  from  Babylon  and  of 
the  rebtdlding  of  Jerusalem  and  the  Temple.  The  period 
covered  is  a  little  over  a  century,  from  540  to  430  B.  c. 
There  is  a  striking  contrast  between  the  original  con- 
quest of  Canaan  and  the  return  of  the  captives  from 
Babylon.  In  the  first  case  it  was  a  migi'^ating  nation 
manifestly  favored  of  God.  with  a  history  of  wondrous 
deliverance  and  guidance,  and  tinder  a  great  and  success- 
ful general.  In  the  second  place,  a  small  company  of 
earnest  sotils  under  the  i)ermission  of  a  heathen  nation, 
amid  many  dangers  and  disco tiragements,  with  a  history 
of  bitter  defeat  and  captivity,  and  with  no  manifest  favor 
of  God,  come  to  a  land  devastated  by  long  wars  and  in 
the  possession  of  strangers.  Still,  the  scene  is  again  in 
Judah.  and  the  prophets  again  speak  in  their  own  land. 

Haggai  speaks  in  the  early  part  of  the  period  of  the 
Eestoration.  the  accotint  of  which  is  given  in  the  first 
part  of  the  book  of  Ezra.  Sixteen  years  had  passe<i 
since  the  first   band   of  captives   had  returned.      The 


THE   EXGLlfeH    BIBLE  289 

people  had  builded  eomfonable  dwellings  for  themselreR, 
but  liad  not  rebtiilded  the  Temple,  the  dwelling-plaoe  of 
their  King,  and  they  did  not  prosper. 

Haggai  tries  to  stimulate  them  to  the  building  of  the 
Temple.  He  was  probably  an  old  man,  and  app€^s  to 
the  memories  of  the  feathers  who  had  heard  from  their 
fathers  of  the  glories  of  Solomon's  Temple,  with  the 
splendid  prediction  that  the  glory  of  this  Temple  should 
be  greater  than  that  of  Solomon's. 

Zechariah  also  tries  to  stimulate  the  people  to  the 
rebuilding  of  the  Temple.  He  began  his  mini-strj-  while 
Haggai  was  speaking,  and  continued  it  probably  after 
Haggai*  s  voice  was  silenced  in  death.  He  seems,  espe 
cially  in  the  first  part  of  the  book,  to  have  been  a  young 
man,  hopefiol  and  conrageous,  looking  over  all  obstacles. 
£i^it  symbolic  visioiis  are  given,  each  showing,  and  with 
emniLlative  power,  that  God  favors  His  people  in  this 
w<»k;  and  these  are  foDowed  by  a  symbolic  action  show- 
ing  tiiflt  the  true  builder  of  the  Temple  shall  be  both 
King  and  Priest.  The  latter  part  of  the  book  contaiDS 
ipeedies  of  a  latesr  time,  and  haa  a  wider  outlook  than 
the  Temple. 

Malachi  stands  at  the  pmod  o^  the  close  of  the  Bes- 

■X  the  close  of  the  history  given  in  Xehemiah* 

""      r»le  are  r^yoHded^  but  the  people 

nnal  wos^shipeas,  and  their  eondi- 

^  jepts%3^m.    He  preaches  rig^bteomneas 

bem  out  of  a  fonasd  woialiip  into 

.   ^^  adoration  of  God.    The  great 

proninex:  .  ^  Divine  naane  Ibatared  in  the 

conui^a^  "^  reveivnee  for  the  nane 

ilaelf  tie:  e  pvonomieed  except  <nee 


290    MODEEN  PRACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

a  year  by  the  High  Priest  in  the  Benediction  on  the  Day 
of  Atonement. 

The  histories  and  prophecies  at  the  time  of  the  Resto- 
ration belong  to  a  depressed  age,  and  are  inferior  in  style 
and  substance;  but  the  prophets  are  still  with  the  people, 
and  Judah  is  again  in  its  own  land. 

With  Malachi  the  flickering  flame  of  Old  Testament 
prophecy  flares  up  and  goes  out.  The  voices  of  history 
and  poetry  and  oratory  cease  in  silence;  but  the  long 
silence  itself  is  impressive,  the  silence  of  waiting,  the 
hush  of  expectancy,  broken  at  last  by  the  song  of  the 
angels  announcing  the  birth  of  the  Messiah. 

Two  great  characteristics  of  the  period  of  the  Res- 
toration influence  the  succeeding  age  until  the  time  of 
Christ. 

1.  The  regard  for  the  written  word  in  the  religious 
life  of  the  people  gradually  degenerated  into  an  inordi- 
nate regard  for  the  letter  of  the  law. 

2.  The  opposition  of  the  Samaritans  developed  into 
the  rival  worship  and  religious  animosity  of  the  time  of 
Christ. 

Both  the  reverence  for  the  written  law  and  the  Samar- 
itan acceptance  of  the  five  books  of  Moses  indicate  the 
common  belief  in  the  high  antiquity  and  authority  of 
the  law  prevailing  in  that  day. 

Part  II.  The   New   Testament 

Our  knowledge  of  Jesus  Christ  comes  from  the  four 
Gospels.  These  Gospels  differ  from  each  other  in  strik- 
ing i^articulars  both  in  style  and  substance.  Why 
there  should  be  four,  and  how  they  compare  with  each 
other,  are  questions  of  interest. 


THE  ENGLISH   BIBLE  291 

While  these  Gospels  give  all  the  account  we  have  of 
Christ  and  of  His  teachings,  they  nowhere  intimate  that 
Christ  ever  directed  that  they  should  be  written,  or  that 
He  ever  wrote  anything  Himself.  Christ's  teachings 
were  entirely  oral.  He  commanded  His  disciples  to 
teach  orally,  and  trained  them  in  this  kind  of  teaching. 
The  disciples,  after  the  death  of  Christ,  taught  orally  of 
His  life.  His  teachings,  and  His  death.  As  time  passed 
two  results  followed:  many  believers  in  Christ  were 
gathered  in  widely  scattered  centers  of  population  in 
the  Eoman  Empire;  and  one  after  another  of  the  origi- 
nal disciples  died.  The  need  now  becomes  evident  that 
the  oral  teaching  of  the  disciples  should  be  reduced  to 
writing.  This  is  the  account  of  their  origin  which  the 
Gospels,  the  Acts,  and  the  Epistles  give  of  themselves 
in  their  mutual  relations.  The  Gospels  and  the  Acts  do 
not  refer  to  each  other,  with  the  slight  exception  of  the 
introduction  of  Luke  and  of  the  Acts.  Nor  do  the  Gos- 
pels and  the  Epistles  refer  to  each  other,  showing  that 
many  of  the  Epistles  were  probably  written  before  the 
Gospels;  nor  do  the  Acts  and  the  Epistles  refer  to  each 
other,  the  Epistles  probably  having  been  written  before 
the  Acts.  The  apostles  do  not  seem  to  have  had  any 
thought  of  their  writings  ever  being  gathered  in  one  book. 
Our  New  Testament  does  not  come  to  us  from  the  design 
of  man,  but  from  the  plan  of  God  unfolding  in  His  provi- 
dence and  by  the  inscrutable  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
The  first  three  Gospels  were  evidently  written  without  con- 
cert or  comparison  with  each  other,  and  at  about  the  same 
period,  and  in  different  sections,  and  for  different  classes. 

The  oral  teachings  of  the  disciples  would  be  the  same 
in  substance:  the  incidents  of  the  life  of  Christ,  espe- 


292    MODEEN  PRACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

cially  the  words  of  Christ,  would  be  carefully  recounted; 
but  beyond  this  the  selection  and  the  emphasis  would 
vary  according  to  the  taste  of  the  teacher  and  the  needs 
of  the  people. 

The  teaching  by  Matthew  would  vary  from  that  by 
Peter  according  to  the  taste  of  the  men,  and  the  teach- 
ing of  the  Jews  would  vary  from  that  of  the  Greeks 
according  to  the  needs  of  the  people. 

This  accounts  for  the  variety  in  the  Gospels.  The 
three  great  races  mingling  in  the  Roman  Empire  in  that 
day  were  representative  of  the  strong  traits  of  human 
nature.  The  Jews  represent  self-righteousness,  the 
Romans  self-control,  and  the  Greeks  self- culture;  the 
Jews  represent  conscience,  the  Romans  will,  and  the 
Greeks  intellect.  The  first  three  Gospels  meet  these 
traits  of  human  nature,  and  so  we  have  a  reason  for  the 
existence  of  the  three,  while  the  fourth,  evidently  sup- 
plemental to  the  others,  is  addressed  to  the  needs  of  be- 
lievers of  all  the  races. 

Both  the  coincidences  and  the  peculiarities  of  the  four 
Gospels,  the  more  we  study  them,  confirm  this  view. 

If  the  arbitrary  assumption  be  made  that  the  contents 
of  each  Gospel  equal  100,  the  proportion .  of  passages 
agreeing  and  standing  alone  is  as  follows: 

Gospel  Peculiarities  Coincidences 

Matthew 42  58 

Mark 7  93 

Luke 59  41 

John 92  8 

It  is  clear  that  Mark  is  the  least  and  John  is  the  most 
original  of  all  the  Gospels.     It  is  absurd,  however,  to 


THE  EKGLISH  BIBLE  293 

jump  to  the  conclusion  that  Mark  is  the  basal  Gospel. 
The  Gospels,  then,  give  us  a  written  record  of  the  preach- 
ing of  the  apostles.  They  show  how  the  apostles  pre- 
sented Christ  to  the  different  races  of  men,  how  they 
adapted  their  preaching  to  meet  the  needs  of  different 
classes  of  minds. 

As  we  have  read  the  prophets  as  the  great  master 
preachers  of  the  Old  Testament,  so  we  now  read  the 
Gospels  to  find  out  how  the  greatest  preacher  of  all  the 
ages,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  preached,  and  how  those 
great  preachers  of  the  early  Church  carried  the  Gospel 
of  Christ  to  all  men.  We  should  find  many  a  hint  and 
much  stimulus  to  teach  us  how  to  preach. 

Matthew.  Eenan  calls  Matthew  ^^the  most  impor- 
tant book  ever  written."  Matthew  is  modest;  not  a 
single  word  or  act  of  his  is  recorded  in  his  Gospel  after 
he  became  a  disciple;  it  is  only  in  his  Gospel  that  the 
despised  term  ^  ^  publican  ' '  is  associated  with  his  name 
in  the  list  of  the  apostles,  and  he  puts  his  name  after 
that  of  Thomas,  his  associate,  reversing  the  order  of  the 
other  Gospels,  and  he  tells  us  nothing  about  his  being 
rich  and  generous;  we  have  to  go  to  the  other  Gospels  to 
find  this;  this  preacher  loses  himself  in  his  subject. 

He  shows  us  how  he  and  others  with  him  preached  the 
Gospel  to  the  Jews.  His  is  well  called  the  Gospel  of  the 
Kingdom,  he  tried  to  show  the  Jews  that  Christ  was  the 
promised  King,  the  culmination  of  their  long  history, 
the  fulfilment  of  their  splendid  prophecies. 

Christ  is  the  Son  of  David,  your  promised  King,  the 
King  of  Eighteousness;  this  is  the  prevailing  tone  of  the 
preaching  to  the  Jews.  The  book  is  crowded  with  cita- 
tions from  the  Old  Testament.     Matthew  was  familiar 


294   MODEEN  PRACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

witli  the  sacred  books  and  used  them  freely  to  commend 
the  Savior. 

He  shows  his  business  training  in  that  he  is  methodical, 
and  arranges  the  discourses  of  Christ,  especially  the  par- 
ables, in  an  orderly  and  cumulative  way.  The  procla- 
mation of  the  King  of  Eighteousuess,  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount,  in  which  He  strips  off  the  accumulation  of  man' s 
tradition  and  reveals  the  spirituality  of  God  and  of  His 
commandments,  the  parables  of  the  Kingdom,  and  the 
parables  of  the  King,  are  separately  grouped. 

Matthew  gives  more  of  the  icords  spoken  by  Christ 
than  does  any  other  Gospel.  Of  the  24,000  words  in 
Matthew,  13,742  were  spoken  by  Christ;  of  the  15,209 
words  in  Mark,  5,070  were  spoken  by  Christ;  of  the 
25,600  words  in  Luke,  11,579  were  spoken  by  Christ; 
of  the  19,200  words  in  John,  8,030  were  spoken  by 
Christ. 

Of  the  106  passages  in  the  Gospels  containing  refer- 
ences to  the  Kingdom  of  God,  50  occur  in  Matthew,  15 
in  Mark,  38  in  Luke,  and  3  in  John.  Matthew  records 
also  a  larger  number  of  miracles  than  does  any  other 
Gospel.  ^Yhile  the  great  deeds  and  the  great  words  of 
the  great  King  are  thus  freely  given  to  the  Jews  as  show- 
ing forth  the  Messiah,  two  parts  of  the  Gospel  make 
prominent  the  teaching  of  Christ  in  its  method  and 
aim.  V 

Part  I.  In  chapters  i-xvi:  21,  Christ  teaches  that  He  is 
King;  in  chapter  iii  :  17  the  Divine  voice  is  heard;  this 
is  followed  (chapter  iv:17)  by  the  natui'e  of  Christ's 
preaching,  ^Hhe  Kingdom  of  Heaven  is  at  hand." 

Part  II.  In  chapters  xvi :  21-xx^iii,  Christ  teaches  that 
He  must  suffer  and  die.     The  change  now  in  the  nature 


THE   ENGLISH   BIBLE  ^95 

of  Christ's  teaching  (xvi :  21)  is  followed  by  the  Divine 
voice  (xvii  :5). 

This  shows  that,  both  in  the  teaching  of  Christ,  and  in 
that  of  the  disciples  to  the  Jews,  the  sufferings  and  death 
of  their  King  were  set  forth  fully  and  clearly.  One-third 
of  this,  as  of  the  other  Gospels,  is  preparatory  to  and 
declarative  of  the  death  of  Christ. 

Two  subjects  of  special  study  in  this  and  in  the  other 
Gospels  are  given  to  be  reported  upon  by  you.  (1) 
The  content  of  the  KiDgdom  of  God,  and  (2)  the  teach- 
ing of  Christ  Himself  concerning  the  meaning  of  His 
death. 

If  we  are  at  all  to  resemble  the  preachers  brought  be- 
fore us  by  ^^  this  most  important  book  ever  written,"  the 
Kingdom  of  God  and  the  death  of  Christ  must  be  the 
burden  of  our  iDreaching. 

Mark  has  also  the  same  two  parts. 

Part  I.  In  chapters  i-viii  :31  we  have  Christ's  teach- 
ing that  He  is  King  (i :  15). 

Part  II.  In  chapters  viii :  31-xvi,  Christ  teaches  of  His 
sufferings  and  death  (viii  :31). 

This  Gospel  may  be  called  the  Gospel  of  Great  Deeds, 
of  the  Divine  Man,  of  the  Conqueror.  Mark  may  be  called 
the  interpreter  of  Peter,  as  he  wrote  for  the  Eoman 
Christians;  he  shows  how  the  active,  impulsive  Peter 
and  other  disciples  preached  to  the  conquering,  energetic 
Eoman.  To  commend  Christ  to  the  heroic  Eoman,  He 
is  set  forth  as  an  heroic  conqueror.  This  shortest  Gos- 
pel is  rapid,  Advid,  energetic.  Words  of  movement 
occur  frequently.  It  contains  no  extended  speech,  and 
only  four  parables,  but  describes  eighteen  miracles.  The 
miracles  peculiar  to  Mark  are  described  in  vii :  32  and 


296   MODEEN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

viii :  22.  The  large  synagog  ministry  in  the  early  life  of 
Christ  is  just  hinted  at  (i  :39-ii  :1),  and  this  section  con- 
tains a  striking  miracle.  Mark  gives  the  impression 
that  Christ's  life  of  ministry  was  very  short,  only  a  few 
months.  He  gives  vivid  photographic  touches — his  is  the 
realistic,  the  pictorial  Gospel — and  he  brings  the  looks 
and  gestures  of  Christ  before  us  (iii:5,  34)  and  how  he 
impressed  men  by  His  bearing  (x  :32). 

One-third  of  this  rapid  Gospel  of  the  Conqueror  is  given 
to  the  last  week,  when  the  great  deeds  cease,  and  the  Con- 
queror gives  Himself  up  to  the  Eoman  cross. 

Peter  and  Mark  did  not  hide  the  cross  in  preaching 
to  the  Eomans.  The  greatness  of  the  Conqueror  magni- 
fied the  greatness  of  His  self-sacrifice. 

Luke  stands  alone  as  being  the  only  Gentile  who 
wrote  a  book  of  the  Bible,  and  he  wrote  two;  all  other 
books  of  both  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  were  written 
by  Jews,  with  the  possible  exception  of  the  Epistle  to 
the  Hebrews.  His  Gospel  is  the  longest,  most  chronolog- 
ically arranged,  and  most  complete  of  the  four.  The 
peculiarities  are  striking:  the  visions  of  angels,  the  beau- 
tiful hymns,  the  heart  parable  of  the  lost  son,  and  the 
long  journey  through  Perea  to  the  cross.  The  gracious- 
ness  of  the  Savior  to  all  mankind,  His  benevolence 
and  saintliness  to  the  Gentiles  as  well  as  to  His  own 
kindred,  are  dwelt  upon  with  delight.  The  way 
Christ  appealed  to  a  cultured,  beauty-loving  Greek,  and 
was  presented  to  the  Greeks,  finds  expression  in  this 
Gospel. 

Eenan  has  good  reason  to  call  it  ' '  the  most  beautiful 
book  ever  written. ' '  Luke  may  be  called  the  interpreter 
of  Paul  J  he  shows  how  the  great  apostle  to  the  Gentiles 


THE  EKGLISH   BIBLE  297 

and  the  disciples  presented  Christ  to  the  intellectual  and 
cultured  Greeks. 

Luke  also,  as  did  Matthew  and  Mark,  describes  the 
turning-point  in  Christ's  ministry,  the  confession  of  the 
disciples,  followed  by  the  Transfiguration;  up  to  this 
tinie  the  burden  of  Jesus'  teaching  had  been  that  He 
was  Christ,  the  King;  from  this  time  it  is  that  He 
would  suffer  and  die. 

This  turning-point  is  brought  forward  a  little  earlier 
in  this  Gospel  (ix:22)  than  in  the  others,  and  at  least 
the  same  prominence  in  this  beautiful  Gospel  for  the 
beauty-loving  Greeks  is  given  to  the  Cross  of  Christ. 
Surely  the  preacher  of  to-day  who  does  not  make  the 
Cross  and  the  Kingdom  prominent  in  his  preach- 
ing, fails  to  take  to  his  heart  the  teaching  of  Christ  and 
of  his  disciples  in  the  Gospels.  Both  Mark  and  Luke 
had  not  been  with  Christ;  the  other  Gospels  give  a  large 
element  of  the  personal  impression  of  Christ  upon  the 
writers,  these  two  Gospels  give  the  general  impression 
of  Christ  in  His  life  and  teachings  upon  the  whole  body 
of  the  disciples,  and  also  interpret  the  general  teachings 
of  these  disciples  to  the  world. 

This  Gospel  may  be  called  the  Idealistic  Gospel,  the 
Gospel  of  the  Son  of  Man.  There  are  thirty-five  mir- 
acles described  in  the  Gospels,  most  of  them  miracles  of 
healing  and  rescue  of  man  from  distress.  These  are  evi- 
dently only  a  few  of  the  miracles  Christ  wrought,  speci- 
mens of  His  general  work.  There  are  several  general 
descriptions  of  healing — e.g.,  Matt.  iv:23 — which  show 
that  as  Christ  passed  through  the  land,  disease  and  mis- 
ery gave  place  to  health  and  happiness. 

Luke  gives  more  miracles  of  healing  than  any  other 


298   MODEEN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

Gospel,  and  describes  them  from  the  standpoint  of  a 
physician.  The  Kingdom  of  God  and  this  feature  of 
Christ's  work  are  prominent  in  both  Matthew  and  Mark; 
the  Kingdom  is  described  not  only  by  the  words,  but  by 
the  acts  of  the  King. 

Live  in  ^^ Hell's  Kitchen,"  the  worst  tenement  region 
of  New  York  City,  and  in  a  few  days  you  will  proba- 
bly have  a  sore  throat,  a  severe  headache,  feverishness 
and  debility,  and  a  craving  for  a  stimulant.  The  mis- 
sion of  the  Church  is  not  only  to  save  souls  out  of 
^'Hell's  Kitchen,"  but  so  to  establish  the  Kingdom  of 
God  in  New  York  City  that  there  shall  be  no  ^^  Hell's 
Kitchen." 

This  is  far  different  from  the  ^'  Faith  Cure  "  and  from 
^^ Christian  Science"  ;  without  question  the  mind  has 
much  to  do  with  bodily  ailments,  but  both  these  theories 
stand  helpless  before  the  maimed,  the  born  blind,  and 
the  dead,  and  here  especially  the  power  of  Christ  was 
seen.  The  Christian  Church  is  not  endowed  with  this 
power  of  her  Lord,  but  she  has  the  power  and  the  call  to 
establish  the  Kingdom  of  God,  a  condition  favorable  for 
health  and  happiness. 

Matthew,  the  Messianic  Gospel,  shows  the  Kingdom 
of  Heaven  unfolding  from  the  history  of  the  past. 

Mark,  the  realistic  Gospel,  describes  the  energy  of  the 
King  in  the  present. 

Luke,  the  idealistic  Gospel,  foreshadows  the  expansion 
of  the  Kingdom  in  the  future. 

John,  the  Divine  Gospel,  describes  the  Kingdom  with 
reference  to  eternity. 

John  is  the  most  original  of  the  Gospels  because, 
written  long  after  the  others,  it  is  supplemental  to  them. 


THE   ENGLISH   BIBLE  299 

The  three  Gospels  give  us  intimations  of  the  kind  of 
preaching  the  disciples  gave  as  they  carried  the  Gospel 
for  the  first  time  to  the  different  races  of  men.  John 
gives  us  an  intimation  of  the  kind  of  preaching  given  to 
believers  that  they  might  advance  to  a  deeper  insight 
into  the  nature  of  their  Lord.  He  was  familiar  with  the 
other  Gospels,  he  was  alive  to  the  keen  questionings  of 
the  Greek  intellect,  and  his  intimacy  with  Christ  while 
he  was  on  earth  had  been  followed  by  a  long  experience 
of  the  indwelling  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  From  his  natural 
sensitiveness  of  soul  and  keenness  of  mind,  and  from  his 
long  training,  and  his  recognition  of  the  believers'  need, 
he  has  been  enabled,  under  the  inspiration  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  to  give  us  the  most  profound  insight  into  the 
nature  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

Coleridge  says:  '^  The  Gospel  of  John  is  the  most  sub- 
lime book  ever  written."  The  prolog  sets  forth  the 
purpose  of  the  Gospel  that  the  Word  (i :  1),  made  flesh 
(i  :  14),  reveals  the  Father  (i :  18). 

In  accordance  with  this  purpose,  the  acts  and  sayings 
of  Christ  in  the  other  Gospels  become  signs  and  wit- 
nesses in  this.  In  the  Old  Testament  the  prophet  fre- 
quently based  his  discourse  on  a  symbolic  action,  given 
as  the  credential  of  the  Divine  commission. 

So  in  this  Gospel  the  miracle  as  the  sign  of  the  revela- 
tion of  the  Father  becomes  the  basis  of  a  discourse — e.g., 
the  healing  of  Bethesdaj  the  feeding  of  the  multitude; 
the  raising  of  Lazarus;  so  also  the  only  two  parables  in 
John  are  treated  as  starting-points  of  discourse. 

John  also  presents  some  of  the  great  conversations  of 
Christ,  and  much  of  the  allegorical  teaching,  and  in  his 
Gospel  and  his  epistles  he  gives  us  the  three  definitions 


SOO   MODEEK  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

of  God  found  iu  the  New  Testament:  God  is  a  spirit; 
God  is  light;  God  is  love. 

MattlieWj  the  Gospel  of  the  King,  is  to  the  Hebrews. 

Mark,  the  Gospel  of  the  Hero,  is  to  the  Romans. 

Luke,  the  Gospel  of  the  Son  of  Man,  is  to  the  Greeks. 

John,  the  Gospel  of  the  Son  of  God,  is  to  the  believers 
of  all  nations. 

The  three  Gospels,  while  not  narratives  of  successive 
events  in  the  life  of  Christ,  agree  in  describing  the  turn- 
ing-point in  His  ministry — Matt,  xvi  :  21;  Mark  viii  :  31; 
Luke  ix  :  22  (which  is  identified  with  John  vi :  66) ;  from 
this  time  on  He  began  to  teach  more  fully  of  His  death. 
He  turned  from  the  people  wanting  to  make  Him  a  King 
to  face  the  cross. 

The  supplemental  character  of  John  makes  quite  clear 
that  our  Lord' s  ministry  extended  over  three  years,  and 
gives  rise  to  the  characterization  of  each  year  which  is 
fairly  correct  and  certainly  striking. 

1.  The  year  of  Obscurity.  A  few  hints  are  given 
in  the  other  Gospels,  and  not  a  very  full  description  in 
John. 

2.  The  year  of  Popularity.  At  the  end  of  this  year 
is  the  turning-point  in  his  ministry  just  described. 

3.  The  year  of  Opposition.  The  first  half  spent  in 
Galilee;  the  last  half  in  the  long,  slow  journey  through 
Perea  on  his  way  to  the  cross. 

AYhile  it  is  difficult  to  trace  the  months  and  years  of 
his  ministry,  the  last  week  of  his  life  stands  out  with 
such  distinctiveness  that  almost  the  hours  may  be  counted. 

About  one -third  of  each  Gospel  is  given  to  this  last 
week,  and  it  is  clearly  seen  how  each  step  of  our  Lord 
was  designed  by  him  and  led  on  to  the  cross. 


THE   ENGLISH   BIBLE  301 

That  such  a  large  portion  of  such  small  books  about 
the  most  wonderful  Being  who  ever  lived  should  be  de- 
voted to  a  description  of  the  events  leading  to  His  death 
and  of  the  death  upon  the  cross,  shows  how  prominent 
a  place  was  given  in  the  preaching  of  the  early  dis- 
ciples to  the  death  of  Christ. 

Matthew  gives  in  the  early  part  of  his  Gospel  the 
longest  discourse  of  our  Lord  to  the  multitude,  the 
proclamation  of  the  principles  of  the  Kingdom,  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount.  John  gives  in  the  closing  part 
of  his  Gospel  the  longest  discourse  of  our  Lord  to  His 
disciples  and  His  Prayer  to  the  Father — it  is  His  fare- 
well in  view  of  His  coming  death.  As  we  have  divided 
Christ's  farewell  into  chapters,  we  may  call  them  (1) 
The  Comfort  Chapter,  (2)  The  Abiding  Chapter,  (S) 
The  Holy  Ghost  Chapter,  and  (4)  The  Prayer  Chapter. 
So  the  two  Gospels,  in  their  beginning  and  in  their 
ending,  and  including  all  the  rest,  give  us  the  subject 
of  all  true  preaching  —  the  King,  the  Kingdom,  and 
the  death  of  the  King,  who  died  for  our  sins  and 
rose  again  for  our  justification,  and  who,  having  all 
power,  sends  us  out  to  establish  the  Kingdom  in  the 
whole  earth. 

Christ  quoted  or  familiarly  referred  to  at  least  twenty- 
three  books  of  the  Old  Testament.  The  references  and 
citations  by  Christ  and  the  apostles  to  the  Old  Testament 
history  and  prophecy  seem  to  include  at  least  three 
principles. 

1.  The  proof -text  principle.  The  passage  selected  from 
the  Old  Testament  is  a  prediction,  and  that  it  was  ful- 
filled is  a  proof  of  the  Divine  mission — e.g.,  Matt,  ii  :  6. 

2.  The    illuminative   principle.     The    Old    Testament 


302         MODERI!^  PEAOTICAL  THEOLOGY 

passage  is  selected  to  illustrate  its  fulfilment  iu  Christ 
in  a  higher  sense — e.g.^  Matt,  ii  :  15.  ^^Out  of  Egypt 
have  I  called  my  son ' '  applied  in  the  first  place  to  the 
Exodus,  and  now,  in  the  higher  sense,  to  the  Son  of  the 
Father. 

3.  The  allegorical  pHnciple.  The  Old  Testament  inci- 
dent is  seen  to  have  had  a  higher  meaning  than  its 
literal  statement  (John  viii  :  56). 

The  first  and  second  principles  are  followed  in 
Matthew,  who  wrote  for  the  Jews.  The  third  is  followed 
generally  by  John,  who  wrote  for  the  believers.  Mark 
and  Luke,  who  wrote  for  the  Romans  and  the  Greeks, 
made  very  little  use  of  Old  Testament  quotations  and 
references. 

The  Acts.  Beecher,  confessedly  one  of  the  greatest 
preachers,  says  he  learned  how  to  preach  by  the  careful 
study  of  the  sketches  of  the  sermons  found  in  the  book 
of  Acts. 

These  early  preachers  went  forth  at  the  command  of 
Christ;  they  had  the  life  of  Christ  within  them,  and 
each  sermon  had  not  only  a  subject,  Christ  the  outcome 
of  the  Old  Testament,  but  an  object,  the  glory  of  Christ 
in  the  earth. 

The  book  of  Acts  recounts  the  life  of  Christ  con- 
tinued in  His  Church.  It  is  the  unfolding  of  the  obe- 
dience to  His  command  upon  the  fulfilment  of  his  prom- 
ise in  i  :  8.     It  may  be  divided  into  three  parts : 

Part  I.,  chapters  i-xii.  Jerusalem  is  the  center. 
Peter  is  the  leader.  Christ  sends  the  Holy  Ghost  at 
each  step  of  the  spreading  of  the  witness-bearing — first 
in  Jerusalem  (ii :  2),  then  in  Samaria  (viii :  17),  then  in 
the  ends  of  the  earth  (x  :  44). 


THE  E:>^GLISH   bible  303 

Part  II.,  chapters  xiii-xx.  Antioch  is  the  center. 
Paul  is  the  leader.  Paul  is  the  great  missionary  for 
thirteen  years. 

The  first  missionary  journey  was  tentative  (chapters 
xiii-xiv). 

The  second  missionary  journey  was  rapid  and  bold, 
seeking  the  great  centers  of  power  (chapters  xvi-xviii). 

The  third  missionary  journey  gave  rise  to  the  great 
Epistles  (chapters  xix-xx). 

Part  II.,  chapters  xxi-xxviii.  Paul  is  a  prisoner. 
Eome  is  reached,  and  the  Prison  Epistles  written. 

The  Gospels  give  us  pictures  of  the  Perfect  Life 
rather  than  a  chronological  narrative  of  that  life.  The 
Acts  is  continuous  history  of  the  Church  for  thirty  years 
from  the  death  of  Christ.  The  first  fifteen  chapters  are 
not  by  an  eye-witness,  the  ^^we"  chapters  begin  with 
chapter  xvi,  when  Luke  became  the  companion  of  Paul. 
Paul  was  probably  born  about  the  time  of  the  birth  of 
Christ.  He  was  converted  when  thirty-seven  years  old, 
began  his  first  missionary  journey  when  he  was  forty- 
five,  eight  years  after  his  conversion,  and  wrote  his  first 
Epistle  when  he  was  fifty-three,  sixteen  years  after  his 
conversion. 

•'Like  as  a  star 
That  maketh  not  haste, 
That  taketh  not  rest, 
He  faithfully  filled 
His  God-given  hest." 

Paul  was  probably  released  from  prison  in  64  a.d.  ;  he 
wrote  his  Epistles  to  Titus  and  Timothy  in  67,  and  was 
beheaded  in  68,  under  Kero. 


304        MODEEN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

It  is  probable  that  the  Acts,  the  Gospels  by  Mark, 
Luke  and  John,  and  all  of  Paul's  Epistles  were 
written  outside  of  the  land  of  Judea.  This  is  in  strik- 
ing contrast  with  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament, 
and  manifests  that  Christianity  was  already  a  world 
religion. 

It  will  add  interest  to  your  Bibles  to  mark  on  the  mar- 
gin of  Acts  and  at  the  head  of  the  Epistles  the  time  and 
place  of  icriting  the  Epistles. 

Acts  xviii :  5 — I.  Thessalonians  written. 

Acts  xviii :  11 — 11.  Thessalonians  written 

Acts  xix  :  22 — I.  Corinthians  written. 

Acts  XX  :  1 — II.  Corinthians  written. 

Acts  XX  :  1 — Galatians  written. 

Acts  XX  :  3 — Eomans  written. 

Acts  xxviii :  30,  31 — Philippians,  Colossians,  Philemon, 
Ephesians  written. 

It  is  probable  the  first  six  of  these  epistles  were  written 
before  either  the  three  Gospels  or  the  Acts.  Nothing  is 
said  in  the  Epistles  about  the  Acts,  nor  in  the  Acts 
about  the  Epistles,  only  the  Epistles  fit  into  the  circum- 
stances described  in  the  Acts.  The  life  of  Paul  is 
crowded  into  a  few  chapters  of  the  Acts,  and  nothing  is 
said  of  his  death — in  striking  contrast  with  the  account 
of  the  death  of  Christ.  IS'othing  is  said  in  Paul's  life 
about  his  writing  the  Epistles,  nor  in  the  Epistles  about 
an  account  of  his  life.  There  is  no  sign  of  an  intent  of 
Paul's  ever  gathering  the  Epistles  together  in  one  book; 
this  was  done  long  after  his  death,  not  by  any  individual, 
but  by  a  general  process  prevailing  among  widely  scat- 
tered churches.  The  life  of  Paul  in  the  Acts,  and  in  the 
Epistles  written  by  him,  confirm  the  truthfulness  of  each 


THE  ENGLISH  BIBLE  305 

other  by  a  multitude  of  undersigned  coincidences.  There 
are  four  supposable  things  in  a  Biography  and  Letters 
combined: 

1.  The  Biography  was  compiled  from  the  letters. 

2.  The  Letters  were  fabricated  from  the  biography. 

3.  They  were  both  invented,  either  wholly  or  from  a 
common  tradition. 

(In  any  one  of  these  cases  the  conformity  would  be 
studied,  the  result  of  design,  and  however  skilfully  done 
it  could  be  detected. ) 

4.  Both  are  true.  The  man  lived  as  recorded,  and 
wrote  the  letters  attributed  to  him.  In  this  case  a  mul- 
titude of  delicate  but  natural  and  evidently  undersigned 
coincidences  prove  conclusively  that  Paul  lived  and 
wrote  as  recorded.  But  Paul' s  life  can  not  be  accounted 
for  otherwise  than  by  the  life  of  Christ  who  lived,  taught, 
and  died,  as  preached  at  first  by  the  disciples  and  after- 
ward recorded  in  the  Gospels.  If  all  these  writings  had 
been  just  discovered  and  were  unsupported  by  any  out- 
side evidence,  this  internal  evidence  is  sufficient  to  prove 
their  truth  that  Christ  lived  and  that  Paul  lived  as 
recorded. 

The  Epistles  are  a  marked  feature  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment. Not  only  does  the  Acts  show  us  what  kind  of 
preachers  the  early  disciples  were,  but  the  Epistles  as 
letters  from  the  heart  to  friends  and  churches  in  special 
need  show  that  the  preachers  felt  the  truths  they 
preached;  and  Beecher's  saying,  that  a  successful 
preacher  and  pastor  must  have  a  deep  emotional  nature, 
is  confirmed  by  our  reading  the  Epistles. 

I.  and  IL  Thessalonians,  probably  the  earliest 
books  of  the  New  Testament,  were  written  to  comfort 


306    MODEEN  PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

stricken  hearts  iu  the  loss  of  their  beloved  dead   (I. 
Thes.  iv:  13-18). 

I.  Corinthians  counsels  a  Christian  church  in  the 
capital  of  worldliness.  Corinth,  a  city  of  half  a  million 
people,  a  capital  of  Grecian  luxury,  culture,  and  idola- 
try, contained  a  church  of  certainly  not  over  five  hun- 
dred members.  There  was  danger  that  the  five  hundred 
would  be  influenced  by  the  five  hundred  thousand,  and 
the  great-hearted  apostle  counsels  them  against  intel- 
lectual heathenism  and  licentious  worldliness. 

II.  Corinthians  further  appeals  to  them  by  the  apostle 
showing  them  his  heart.  It  may  be  called  the  ^^  Inner 
Life  of  the  Great  Apostle." 

Galatians  is  one  of  the  two  great  doctrinal  epistles. 
It  resembles  the  Eomans  as  the  ''  rough  model  resembles 
the  finished  statue."  It  was  the  favorite  epistle  of 
Luther,  to  which  he  said  ''he  was  wedded."  But  it  is 
not  cold  reasoning;  it  throbs  with  the  warm,  emotional 
nature  of  the  apostle.  He  appeals  to  the  fickle  nature 
of  the  Galatians  with  strong  reasons.  It  may  be  called 
'^The  Proclamation  of  Liberty  in  Christ." 

The  Romans.  Luther  says:  ''It  is  the  chief  book 
of  the  New  Testament  and  the  purest  Gospel."  Calvin 
says:  ^'  It  opens  the  door  to  all  the  treasures  of  the  Scrip- 
ture." Coleridge  says:  ^^It  is  the  most  profound  book 
in  es^istence."  Tholuck  says:  "It  is  the  Christian 
philosophy  of  universal  history."  It  is  called  "The 
acropolis  of  the  Christian  faith."  It  is  the  setting 
forth  of  the  Gospel  the  apostle  longed  to  preach  in  the 
capital  of  the  world.  It  is  an  elaborate  and  lucid  state- 
ment of  God's  plan  of  saving  man  from  sin.  It  is  a 
masterpiece  of  human  reason,  and  it  pulsates  with  the 


THE   ENGLISH   BIBLE  307 

love  of  the  great  heart  of  the  apostle  for  Christ  and  for 
humanity.  It  is  generally  called  ' '  The  Epistle  of  Justi- 
fication by  Faith. '^     Its  topics  are: 

1.  The  Need  of  Justification  (i-iii :  20). 

2.  The  Nature  of  Justification  (iii :  21-iv). 

3.  The  Believer's  Changed  Condition  (v). 

4.  The  Believer's  Changed  Character  (vi-viii). 

5.  Application  of  Salvation  by  Grace  (ix-xii). 

6.  Eesults  of  Justification  (xii-xvi). 

The  Prison  Epistles  show  that  the  heart  of  the 
apostle  is  free,  and  longs  for  the  richest  blessings  from 
his  Lord  upon  those  he  loves. 

Philippians  treats  of  fellowship  with  Christ. 

Colossians  treats  of  the  glory  of  Christ. 

Philemon  treats  of  the  slave  a  brother  of  Christ. 

Ephesians  treats  of  the  glory  of  the  Church  of  Christ. 

It  is  probable  that  about  the  time  these  four  epistles 
were  written  by  Paul,  a  prisoner  at  Kome,  the  Gospels 
of  Matthew,  Mark,  and  Luke  and  the  book  of  the  Acts 
were  written. 

The  Epistle  of  James  vies  with  I.  Thessalonians  in 
the  claim  of  being  the  earliest  book  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment. It  treats  of  character  as  the  test  of  religion, 
not  of  justification  by  faith  but  of  the  justification  of 
faith.  It  may  be  called  "  The  Epistle  of  Applied  Chris- 
tianity." 

The  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  shows  that  the  Eeve- 
lation  of  God  culminates  in  Christ.     The  topics  are: 

1.  Christ  is  superior  to  angels  (i-ii). 

2.  Christ  is  superior  to  Moses  (iii). 

3.  Christ  is  superior  to  Joshua  (iv). 

4.  Christ  is  superior  to  Aaron  (vii). 


308        MODEEN   PEACTICAL  THEOLOGY 

5.  Christ  is  a  sacrifice  superior  to  Temple  sacrifices 
(viii-x). 

6.  Faith  in  Christ. 

(a)  Incentive  of  the  past  (xi). 

(b)  Stimulating  the  present  (xii). 

(c)  Promising  the  eternal  future  (xiii). 

I.  Timothy  is  a  charge  to  the  pastor  of  a  church. 
Titus  gives  directions  for  organizing  churches. 

II.  Timothy  is  the  farewell  of  the  great  apostle  to  the 
Gentiles. 

The  I.  Epistle  of  Peter  was  probably  written  at 
Babylon,  while  Paul  was  in  prison  at  Eome,  and  its  intent 
is  to  encourage  Christians  in  times  of  persecution.  It 
may  be  called,  ^^ Courage  in  Trial."  It  contains  two 
truths  not  so  plainly  set  forth  elsewhere  in  the  Scrip- 
tures; i  :  12,  the  desire  of  the  angels,  and  iii :  18-20,  the 
preaching  to  the  spirits  in  prison. 

The  II.  Epistle  of  Peter  was  written  soon  after  the 
first,  probably  while  on  his  way  to  Eome,  for  there  is 
some  plausibility  in  the  tradition  that  he  died  at  Eome. 
It  contains  the  farewell  words  of  Peter,  and  may  be 
called  ^^ Knowledge  through  holiness." 

The  Revelation  was  probably  written  soon  after  the 
persecution  by  Kero  and  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem 
by  Titus — both  Jews  and  Christians  were  crushed  by  the 
powers  of  the  world.  The  lone  exile  in  this  dark  hour 
has  glorious  visions  of  Christ,  the  universal  King,  and 
was  sure  of  complete  and  final  triumph. 

To-day  the  world  takes  its  views  of  the  future,  not  ac- 
cording to  the  condition  of  the  exile,  but  according  to  the 
nature  of  the  prophecy.  That  the  glorious  prophecy 
arose  from  that  low  condition  strengthens  our  faith  in 


THE   ENGLISH   BIBLE  309 

the  God  who  reveals  Himself  in  His  Providence  and  in 
His  Word. 

The  prophecy  clothes  itself  in  symbols  like  Daniel  and 
Ezekiel,  the  great  prophets  of  the  Old  Testament,  who 
in  dark  hours  had  visions  of  the  coming  day. 

There  are  seven  groups  of  symbols  and  seven  particu- 
lars in  each  of  the  first  five  groups: 

1.  The  seven  churches  (i-iii). 

2.  The  seven  seals  (iv-vii). 

3.  The  seven  trumpets  (viii-xi). 

4.  The  seven  mystic  figures  (xii-xiv). 

5.  The  seven  vials  (xv-xvi). 

6.  The  Great  ^VTiite  Throne  (xvii-xx). 

The  doom  of  the  foes  of  Christ. 

7.  The  Heavenly  City  (xxi-xxii). 

The  blessedness  of  the  friends  of  Christ. 

The  three  Gospels  and  all  these  books  we  have 
glanced  at  were  probably  written  between  the  years  50 
and  70  a.d.,  inclusive.  Then  there  is  a  long  period  of 
silence,  until  probably  about  the  year  90  a.d.,  when 
the  Gospel  of  John  and  the  Epistles  of  John  were 
written. 

L  John  is  a  postscript  of  the  Gospel.  It  treats  of 
'^Christ  manifest  in  Believers.'^  The  generalizations 
characteristic  of  John  abound  in  this  Epistle: 

1.  Light  (i-ii). 

2.  Eighteousness  (iii-iv  :  6). 

3.  Love  (iv  :  7-v.) 

IL  John,  tho  so  short,  contains  the  word  ^'  love  "  four 
times  and  the  word  '^ truth"  five  times.  In  the  short 
epistle  there  is  also  both  the  tone  of  the  Son  of  Thunder 
and  the  accent  of  the  Apostle  of  Love. 


310      modee:^  peactical  theology 

III.  John  gives  us  the  farewell  words  of  John,  the  be- 
loved disciple,  and  forms  the  book  written  last  of  all  the 
Bible. 

The  Bible  is  not  a  mere  library  of  books,  even  of 
related  books;  it  is  an  organic  unity;  it  is  one  book  as 
truly  as  many  books;  it  is  a  book  of  different  parts,  but 
each  part  is  necessary  to  form  the  organic  whole. 

It  is  the  inspired  record  of  the  divinely  revealed 
religion  for  the  redemption  of  mankind,  introduced  in 
the  Old  Testament  and  developed  historically,  emotion- 
ally, and  hopefully  among  the  Jews,  and  culminating  in 
the  Xew  Testament,  historically,  emotionally,  and  hope- 
fully, among  the  whole  race  of  mankind. 

As  the  first  three  Gospels  were  written  for  different 
portions  of  the  race,  and  the  fourth  Gospel  for  believers 
of  the  whole  race,  so  the  same  characteristics  may  be 
seen  running  through  the  epistles. 

Matthew  was  written  for  the  Jews,  who  relied  upon 
ceremonial  righteousness;  so  were  the  Epistles  of  James, 
of  the  Hebrews,  and  of  the  Galatians,  for  the  fickle  Gala- 
tians  were  being  led  away  from  Christ  by  Jewish 
teachers. 

Mark  was  written  for  the  Eomans,  who  relied  upon 
self-control;  so  were  the  Epistle  to  the  Eomans,  which 
is  upon  justification  by  faith,  and  the  Epistles  to  the 
Thess^lonians,  which  are  upon  complete  salvation  at  the 
second  coming  of  Christ. 

To  the  Greeks,  who  relied  upon  intellectual  culture, 
Luke  was  written;  so  were  the  Epistles  to  the  Corinthi- 
ans, and  the  four  Prison  Epistles,  all  insisting  upon  the 
soul  culture  in  Christ. 

John  was  written  to  believers  of  the  whole  race;  so 


THE  e:j^glish  bible  Sll 

were  the  Catholic  and  Pastoral  Epistles,  and  the  Eeve- 
lation  of  the  triunij)hant  progress  of  the  Kingdom  of 
God.  The  book  of  the  Acts  shows  the  steps  of  progress, 
beginning  at  Jerusalem  and  going  to  the  ends  of  the 
earth. 


INDEX 


ACTS,  The.  page 

Beecher  on 302 

Parts  of 30-2 

AMOS. 

History  and  character 278 

Nature  of  his  message 279 

AMUSEMENTS,  Popular. 

Attitude  of  pastor  toward  ...  119 

ARCHAGICS. 

A  branch  of  Practical  Theology  viii 

Books  recommended xii 

Definition  and  etymology  .   .   .  131 
(See  also  Organizer,  Pastor  as, 
and  Graduate,  Pastor  as.) 

ARGUMENT. 

Used  in  preaching 44 

A  priori 45 

A  posteriori 45 

Deductive 45 

Inductive 46 

From  analogy 46 

From  testimony 46 

From  Scripture 47 

Refutation  to  be  carefully  used  47 

Reductio  ad  absurdum    ....  47 

ASSEMBLIES  op  Church 

In  R.  C.  A.  Constitution   ....  151 

BAPTISM. 
By  whom  administered    ....     96 

In  Reformed  Church 97 

Conditions  of 97,  98 

Study  of  Compendium  before  .     97 

Form  of 98 

Infant 98 

Records  to  be  kept 101 

BIBLE,  The. 
Study  of,  a  branch  of  Practical 

Theology viii 

Books  recommended  in  study  of  xiv 
Pastor  should  be  familiar  with  .  114 
Use  of,  in  training  children  .   .    179 

Sociology  of 194,  196 

Teaching  concerning  the  family  214 

On  dwellings 216 

Teaching  concerning  industry  .  224 
Mosaic  laws  limit  poverty  .  .  .  235 
Gospel  elevates  workers  ....    235 

Teaches  sociology 242 

Survey  of.  a  course  in  Practical 

Theology 245 

Use  of  note-books  in  study  of    .    246 

Versions  of 246 

A  history  of  redemption  ....    249 

Philosophy  of 249 

Four  great  truths  of 249 

Does  not  sanction  all  it  records  260 

Music  in 265 

Poetry  in 266 

Its  organic  unity 310 


BIBLE,  Public  Reading  of.         page 
Place  in  public  worship    ....     93 

System  in     93 

Preparation  for 94 

BIBLE  AND  TRACT   SOCIETIES. 
Church's  relation  to 142 

BOARDS,  Church. 
Authorized  by  R.  C.  A.  Consti- 
tution      150 

BOOKS  RECOMMENDED. 

In  seminary  course ix-xi 

To  seminary  graduate 146 

BROTHERHOOD  OF  ANDREW 
AND  PHILIP. 
Pastor's     assistant    in    prayer- 
meeting     129 

Church's  relation  to 136 

Should  conduct  Rescue  Missions  138 

CATECHISM,  The. 

In  R.  C.  A.  Constitution  ....  1.55 

Use  of,  in  training  children    .   .  178 

In  Sunday-school 188 

CHAUTAUQUA  CIRCLE. 

Church's  relation  to 136 

CHILD,  Training  of   the.    (See 
also  Pedagogy.) 

Subjects 163 

General  elements 163 

Psychology 164 

Bodily  feelings 164 

Psychic  feelings 165 

Power  to  know 166 

Blemory 166 

Imagination 166 

Development  of  thought  ....  167 

Development  of  will 168 

Conscience 169 

Order  of  development  of  powers  171 

"  The  point  of  contact "  .   ...  172 

Development  of  human  nature  175 
Kinds  of  teaching  .  .  .  176, 177,  180 
Religious  instruction  .   .  176,  177, 180 

Use  of  catechisms  and  Bible  .  .  178 
Defects  in  religious  instruction 

in  family 179 

Purpose  of  religious  instruction  180 

Heredity 181 

Environment 183 

Conversion 183 

Comparison    of     Church     and 

State  as  teacher 185 

Value  of  a  child 190 

CHRIST. 

Attitude  toward  industry  ...  224 

Teaches  sociology 242 

Kingship  of,  the  ideal  of  sociol- 
ogy    243 

Words  spoken  by 294 

313 


314 


INDEX 


CHRIST— Continued.  page 

Three  years  of  His  ministry  .  .  300 
Quotations  from  Old  Testament  301 

CHRISTIAN  SCIENCE. 
Ag:e  of  miracles  has  passed  .   .   298 

CHRONICLES,  I.  and  II. 
Books  of  genealogy 264 

CHURCH,  The. 
Customs  of,  in  R.  C.  A.  Consti- 
tution  151 

An  institution  of  culture  ....  225 
Sociological  demands  of  ...   .    226 

CHURCH  SETTLEMENTS. 
Benefits  of 138 

CLASSIS,  The. 

Ordains  pastor 107 

Duties  under  R.  C.  A.  Constitu- 
tion   152 

Composition  of 155 

Powers  of 156 

COLOSSIANS. 
Treats  of  glory  of  Christ     ...    307 

COMMUNION,  The. 

Times  of 99 

Sermon  at 100 

Form  of  Administration  ....    100 

Position  of  elders  at 1 31 

Useof  wine,  individual  cups,  etc.  101 
Records    of    church  -  members, 
etc.,  to  be  kept 101 

COMPENDIUM.  The. 
Study  of,  before  baptism  ....     97 
In  Sunday-school 189 

CONGREGATION,  The. 
Rights  and  duties  of,  in  R.  C.  A. 
Constitution 154 

CONSISTORIES. 
Duties  of,  under  R.  C.  A.  Con- 
stitution    154,  155,  158 

CONSTITUTION  of  R.  C.  A. 

History  and  spirit 148 

Christ  the  source  of  authority  .    149 

Parts 149 

Principles 150 

Construction  of 150 

Individual  church   government 

by  elders 150 

Individual  responsibility  ....    150 

Officers  of  Church 151 

Assemblies  of  Church 151 

Customs  of  Church 151 

Discipline  of  Church 151 

Ministers  of  the  Word 152 

Classis,  duties  and  powers  of  .152, 155 
Selection  of  teachers  of  theology  152 

Elders  and  Deacons 154 

Consistories 154 

Congregational  suffrage  154, 155,  158 

Heidelberg  Catechism 155 

Constitutional  question  ....  155 
Concerning  the  Particular  Synod  156 
Concerning  the  General  Synod  .    156 

Concerning  Discipline 157 

Concerning  Amendments    ...    158 


PAOB 

CONSTITUTION  op  R.  C.  A.— Cont'd. 
Differs  from  other  church  con- 
stitutions   158 

CONTROL,  Institution  of. 
Includes  family,  town.  State,  and 

national  governments   ....   227 
Bible  teaching,  concerning  .  .  .   230 

CONVERSION. 

Age  of 181 

Of  children 183 

CORINTHIANS  I.  and  II. 
Character  of  Corinth 306 

CORRUPTION. 

Political 289 

Police 239 

Remedies 239 

CREEDS  OR  Confessions. 
Part  of  R.  C.  A.  Constitution  .  .    149 

CRIME. 

A  social  disease 232 

Statistics 239 

Remedies 239 

Principles  of  Penology 240 

CULTURE,  Institution  of. 
Includes  School  and  Church  .   .    225 
Sociological     demands    of    the 
Church 226 

DANIEL, 

History  and  prophecy 287 

Character  of  prophet 287 

DAVID. 
As  general  and  statesman   ...   264 
Organizer  of  national  worship  .    265 
His  choir 265 

DEACONS. 
Duties  of,  under  R.  C.  A.  Con- 
stitution     154, 158 

DECISION  DAY. 
Should  be  appointed  by  pastor  .    122 
In  Sunday-school 189 

DEFICIENTS,  Social. 
Persons   in   condition   of    inac- 
tivity   233 

DELINQUENTS,  Social. 
Persons  in  condition  of  vice  and 
crime 233 

DELIVERY  OF  Sermons. 
Extemporaneous  sermons  .   .    58,  62 

Written  sermons 59,  63 

Natural  speaking 64,  65 

Training  in 66,  69 

Articulation 66 

Tones  of  voice 67 

Posture  and  gesture  in  pulpit  .     68 

Vocal  culture 69 

Personal  magnetism 70 

DEPENDENTS,  Social. 
Persons  in  condition  of  poverty  233 

DEUTERONOMY. 
Is  constitutional  history  ....    255 
Oratorical   and  poetic  in    char- 
acter      255,256 


II^DEX 


315 


PAGE 

DEUTERONOMY— Confmt^ed. 

The  Ten  Commandments    .   .   .  256 

The  Code  of  Laws 256 

The  Covenant 256 

Moses  as  orator 256 

Reveals  God  as  just 257 

DISCIPLINE. 
Principles  of,   under    R.  C.   A. 

Constitution 157 

ECCLESIASTES. 

A  philosophy  of  life 273 

ELDERS. 
Duties  of,  under  R.  C.  A.  Con- 
stitution      154,  158 

ENVIRONMENT. 

A  social  force 208 

Aims  of  Christianity  toward  .   .  209 

EPHESIANS. 

Treats  of  glory  of  Church  ...  307 

EPISTLES,  The. 

Dates  of 304 

Proved  authentic 304 

ESTHER. 

A  picture  of  Xerxes'  court  ...  287 

EVANGELIST. 
Calling  in  of  an,  at  revivals,  in- 
advisable    126 

EVOLUTION. 

In  sociology 192 

Elements  of 192 

EVOLUTION,  Theory  of. 

Room  for,  in  Genesis 251 

EZEKIEL. 

History  and  character  of  .   .   .  286 

Its  two  parts 286 

A  book  of  visions 287 

EXODUS. 

Is  constitutional  history  ....  253 

Divisions 253 

Epic  spirit  of 253 

Advance  on  Genesis  in  revela- 
tion of  God 253 

The  Moral  Law 254 

The  Civil  Law 254 

FAMILY,  The. 

Its  foundation  elements    ....  210 

The  basic  socialinstitutiou     .   .  211 

Evolution  of 211 

Elements  of  marriage  relation  .  212 

Foes  of 213 

Bible  teaching  concerning  ...  214 

Dwellings  of 215 

Hebrew  dwellings 216 

An  institution  of  control  ....  227 

FINANCE,  Church. 

Use  of  advertising ].39 

Principles 139 

Pew-renting 140 

Subscriptions 140 

Contributions 140 

Church  Fairs 141 


PAGE 
FINANCE,  CnVRCH-Continued. 

Sustentation  of  Boards i4i 

FRATERNAL   (Secret)    ORGAN- 
IZATIONS. 

Church's  relation  to 138 

FUNERAL  SERVICE. 
Conduct  of ,  by  pastor 118 

GALATIANS 

Doctrinal  character 306 

Luther's  favorite 306 

GAMBLING. 

Fascination  of 238 

Remedy 239 

GENESIS. 

Is  primitive  history 250 

Accords  with  science 251 

Gives  room  for  theory  of  evolu- 
tion   251 

Accords  with  history 252 

Supernatural  revelations  in  .   .  252 

GOLDEN  RULE,  The. 

In  industry 220 

GOOD  CITIZENSHIP  CLUB. 

Church's  relation  to 137 

GOSPELS,  The. 

Origin 290 

Relation  to  Acts  and  Epistles   .  291 

Variety  and  harmony  of  ...   .  291 
Comparison  of  peculiarities  and 

coincidences 292 

Form  a  manual  of  preaching .  .  293 
Comparison  of  .   .   .298,300,301,310 

GOVERNMENT,  Church. 

Nature  of  a  constitution  ....  147 
(See  Constitution  of  R.  C.  A.) 

GRADUATE,  Pastor  as. 

Seeking  a  field 143 

The  mission  field 144 

Need  of  self -culture 145 

Books  recommended  to   ....  146 

HAGGAI. 

Date 288 

An  appeal  to  build  the  Temple  .    289 

HABAKKUK. 

Prophet  of  judgment 284 

"  The  just  shall  live  by  faith  "  .    284 

HEBREWS. 
Shows  Christ  as  culmination  of 

revelation 307 

Topics 307 

HEREDITY. 

A  social  force 206 

Aims  of  Christianity  toward  .   .    209 

HOLY  SPIRIT. 
Pastor's  need  of 114 

HOMILETICS.  (See  also  Preach- 
ing.) 
A  branch  of  Practical  Theology  viii 

Books  recommended xi 

Definition 15 

A  branch  of  oratory 15 


316 


INDEX 


nOMlLTLTlCS— Continued.  page 

Its  laws  are  fundamental ....     16 

HOSEA. 

History  and  character 279 

Nature  of  his  message 279 

Emphasizes  love  of  God  ....    280 

ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Value 48 

Uses 48 

Sources 49 

Exercises 50 

IMPURITY,  Sexual. 

Statistics      236 

Attitude  of  pulpit  toward    ...  237 

INACTIVITY. 

A  social  disease 232 

INDUSTRY. 

Evolution  of 217 

Of  the  home 217 

Tools 217,  221 

Evolution   of    modern   factory 

system 218 

Growth  of  vast  fortunes  ....  220 

Wage  earners  in  United  States  .  220 

The  Golden  Rule 221 

Combinations    of    capital    and 

labor 221 

Service  a  means  to  success  .  .  .  222 

Dynamic  Sociology     223 

TeachiU:.?  of  Bible  concerning    .  224 

Christ's  attitude  toward  ....  224 

INSTITUTIONAL  CHURCH. 

Advantages  and  features  of    .  .  137 

INTEMPERANCE. 

Causes 237 

Remedies 238 

ISAIAH. 

Orator  and  poet 282 

Two  divisions  of  book 282 

The  servant  idea  in 283 

Emphasizes  redeeming  love  of 

God 283 

JAMES. 
Treats  of  character  as  test  of 
religion      307 

JEREMIAH. 

History  and  character 285 

Preachesanindividual  religion  .   285 

JOB. 

Date 274 

Masterpiece  of  dramatic  poetry   274 
Its  problem  and  the   solutions 

offered 275 

Culmination 275 

JOEL. 

Date 280 

A  rhapsody 280 

JOHN. 
Supplemental  to  other  gospels  .   298 

Character  of  disciple 299 

Coleridge  on 299 

Gospel  of  the  Son  of  God.  ...  300 


JOHN  I.,  II.,  AND  IIL  PAGE 

Character  of 309,  310 

JONAH. 

Story  rather  than  prophecies  .    280 

Significant  of  Jewish  nation  .   .   280 
JOSHUA. 

National  Record  of  Deeds  ...   258 

Joshua  a  great  general 258 

JUDEA. 

Climate,  etc.,  affect  Jewish  char- 
acter   258 

A  historic  land 260 

JUDGES. 

A  book  of  heroism 260 

KINGS,  I.  AND  II. 
Reveals  God  as  ruling  in  history  262 

The  reign  of  Solomon 262 

The  Divided  Kingdom 263 

LABORATORY  Investigatiox. 
In  seminary  course ix 

LAMENTATIONS. 
A  dirge  of  a  city  in  five  formal 
laments 285 

LAND. 
The  physical  basis  of  society  .  .   205 

LEVITICUS. 

Is  liturgical  history 254 

Reveals  God  as  holy 254 

LITURGICS.     (See  also  Worship, 
Public.) 
A  branch  of  Practical  Theology  viii 

Books  recommended xi 

Definition  and  etymology    ...     72 

LITURGY. 
Part  of  R.  C.  A.  Constitution  .  .    149 

LUKE. 

Peculiarities  of 296 

Reaan  on 296 

The  Idealistic  Gospel 297 

MALACHI. 
Arouses  loyalty  to  God  and  rev- 
erence for  His  name 289 

MARK. 

Its  two  portions 295 

The  Gospel  of  Great  Deeds  ...   295 
Few   parables  and  many  mir- 
acles 295 

MARRIAGE  CEREMONY.' 
Performance  of,  by  pastor  .   .  .   120 

MATTHEW. 

Renan  on 293 

Modesty  of  the  apostle 293 

The  Gospel  of  the  Kingdom  .  .  393 
Words  spoken  by  Christ ....  294 
Records  many  miracles  ....  294 
Its  two  portions 294 

MICAH. 

History  of 281 

Prophet  of  equality  and  frater- 
nity   281 


INDEX 


317 


MINISTERS  OF  THE  WORD,    page 
Provided  in  R.  C.  A.  Constitu- 
tion  152 

MIRACLES. 
Age  of,  has  passed 298 

MISSIONS,  Foreign. 
Field  for  seminary  graduate  .  .    144 
Qualifications  for 144 

MUSIC.    (See  Praise,  Public.) 

NAHUM. 
A  prophecy  against  Nineveh .  .    281 

NATION,  The. 
An  institution  of  control ....    227 

NOTICES,  Church. 
By  calendar  and  reading  ....     95 
Time  of  reading 95 

NUMBERS. 
Is  constitutional  history  ....    255 
Reveals  God  as  just 255 

OBADIAH. 

Prophesies  against  Edom    ...    281 
OFFERINGS. 

Time  of 94 

OFFICERS  OF  Church. 
Provided  in  R.  C.  A.  Constitu- 
tion      151 

ORGAN,  Church. 

In  public  praise 88 

ORGANIZATIONS,  Church. 
Extremes  to  be  avoided   ....    133 

Principles  of 1^33 

Should    be    adapted    to    com- 
munity   134 

A  working  church  a  harmonious 

church 135 

Y.  P.  S.  C.  E 136 

Brotherhood    of    Andrew    and 

Philip 136 

C.  L.  S.  C 136 

Young  Men's  Sunday   Evening 

Club 137 

Good  Citizenship  Club 137 

The  Institutional  Church    .   .   .    137 

Church  Settlements 138 

Care  of  poor 138 

Church  as  a  fraternal  organiza- 
tion      138 

Rescue  Missions 138 

Women's  Missionary  Society    .    141 
ORGANIZATIONS,   Undenomina- 
tional. 

Y.  M.  C.  A 143 

Bible  and  Tract  Societies   ...    142 

Salvation  Army 142 

ORGANIZER,  Pastor  as. 

Mission  of 131 

Enthusiasm  for  fellowship  .   .   .    132 
Enthusiasm  of  ministering    .   .    132 
Should  avoid  extremes  of  organi- 
zation (see  also  Organization, 

Church) 133 

Should  recruit  for  the  ministry  142 


PAGE 

ORGANIZER,  Pastor  as— Continued 
Should  incite  his  church  to  co- 
operate    with     undenomina- 
tional organizations  and  sister 

churches 142 

Should  take  part  in  denomina- 
tional government 146 

PASTOR,  The. 

Office  of 103 

Distinguished  from  prophet, 
priest,  apostle,  elder,  deacon, 
missionary,      minister,      and 

licentiate 103,  104 

Relation  to  community     ....    104 
A  specialist  in  social   improve- 
ment   105 

Call  of,  in  Reformed  Church  .  .  106 
Training  of ,  in  Reformed  Church  107 

Ordination  of 107 

Qualities  desirable  in  ...  .  107,  108 
Should  refuse  gratuities  ....    110 
Should  cultivate  social  ability  .    Ill 
Should  work  with  system,  en- 
thusiasm, optimism Ill 

Duty  to  individuals 112 

Pastoral  calls 112,  115 

System  in  calling 113,  114 

Elements  of  effectiveness  ...  114 
Family  visitation    required   by 

R.  C.  A 115 

Work   compared  with  that   of 

preacher 116 

In  the  sick-room 117 

Conducting  funeral  service    .   .    118 
Should  enter  in  joys  of  his  peo- 
ple     119 

Attitude  toward  popular  amuse 

ments 119 

Duties  in  performance  of  mar- 
riage ceremony 120 

Should  focalize  work  on  salva- 
tion of  souls 121 

Should  invite  consultation  ...  122 
Should  appoint  a  Decision  Day  122 
Relation  of,  to  revivals  (see  also 

Revivals) 122 

Preparation  for  prayer-meeting 
(see  also     Prayer-meeting; 
Organizer,  Pastor  as)     ...    128 
A  leader  in  social  consciousness  222 
Attitude  toward  poverty  ....   236 
Attitude  toward  social  impurity  237 
PAUL. 

History  of 303 

PEDAGOGY. 
A  branch  of  Practical  Theology  viii 

Books  recommended xiii 

Definition 160 

Characterizations  of,  by  mas- 
ters   160 

Historical 161 

Descriptive 161 


318 


IKDEX 


PEDAGOGY— Confmued.  page 

Practical 163 

Should  be  taught  in  theological 

seminary 162 

First    principle    of    (see     also 

Child,  Training  of  the)  .  .  .  162 

Maxims  of 173 

Jlethods  of 174 

Kinds  of  teaching 175 

Law  of  psychic  action 176 

Teaching  teachers  to  teach     .   .  184 

PENTATEUCH,  The. 
Last  four  books  a  biography  of 

Moses 257 

Summed  up 257 

The  Constitution  of  Israel  ...  258 

PETER  I.  AND  II. 

Dates 308 

PHILEMON. 

Treats  of  human  brotherhood  .  307 

PHILIPPIANS. 

Treats  of  fellowship  with  Christ  307 

POETRY. 

Kinds  of,  in  Bible 266 

Character  of  Hebrew 266 

Poetic  books  of  the  Bible ....  267 

Akin  to  oratory 267 

POIMENICS. 

A  branch  of  Practical  Theology  viii 

Books  recommended xii 

Definition  and  etymology  ...  102 

Origin 102 

(See  also  Pastor,  The.) 

POVERTY. 

Church's  relation  to 138 

Dwellings  of  the  poor 215 

A  social  disease 232 

Definition 233 

In  the  United  States 233 

Causes  of 234 

Aims  of  society  regarding  (see 

also  Tenement  Reform)  .   .   .  234 
Real   estate  and  civil  laws  of 

Bible  limit 2S6 

Attitude  of  minister  toward  .   .  236 

PRACTICAL  THEOLOGY. 
How  distinguished  from  other 

branches vii 

Its  province vii 

Branches viii 

Manual  of.  in  seminary  course  .  viii 

PRAISE  ,.PuBLic. 

Elements 86 

Lyric  poetry 86 

Music  of  voice 87 

Music  of  instruments 87 

Praise  in  heaven 88 

Church  organ  in 88 

Importance 89 

Addressed  to  God 89 

Poetry  proper  to 89 

Music  proper  to 89 

Congregational  singing 90 

Reading  of  hymns 90 


PRAISE,  "PUBhiC—Continued.      page 

Choice  of  tunes 91 

Trained  choir 92 

Composition  of  choir 92 

Mission  of  choir 92 

Anthems 92 

Prelude  and  postlude 92 

Posture  of  congregation  in    .   .     93 

Doxology 93 

David's  choir 265 

PRAYER,  Public. 

Prescribed  forms 78 

Freedom  in  form 79 

Requisites  of  leadership  ....     79 

Minister's  preparation 80 

Importance 80 

Principal   forms   in    Reformed 

churches 81 

Invocation 81 

Offertory 81 

General  or  Long  Prayer  ....     81 

Closing  Prayer 81 

Benediction 81, 82 

Salutation 82 

PRAYER-MEETING,  The. 

Importance 127 

Objects 128 

Pastor's  preparation  for  ....    128 

Conduct  of 129 

Use  of  Y.  P.  S.  C.  E.  and  Brother- 
hood of  Andrew  and  Philip  in  129 

Question-box 129 

Social  reunion  after 129 

Effects 130 

PREACHING.     (See  also    Homi- 

LETICS.) 

Importance 16 

Definition 16,  18 

Elevated  character  of 16 

Aims 17 

Compared  to  kindred  forces  .  .     18 

Personality  in 18,  53 

Elocution 19 

Requisites 19 

Pi-eacher  compared  with  lawyer   20 
PSALMS,  The.  (See  also  Poetry.) 
Song  of  the  Thunderstorm  ...   267 

Character  of 268 

Preacher  should  know  .   .   .  268,  272 
How  to  judge  date  and  author- 
ship of  268 

The  Golden  Age  of  psalmody  .    269 

Prevailing  ideas  in 269 

Messianic  Psalms 269 

Imprecatory  Psalms 270 

Temple  worship 270 

Song  of  Deliverance 270 

Song  of  the  Redeemed 271 

Song  of  the  Law 271 

TheHallel 271 

Songs  of  Ascents 271 

Hallelujah 272 

SelahandGittith 272 


INDEX 


319 


PROVERBS.  PAGE 

Gnomic  philosophy 273 

Origin  of 273 

PROPHETS,  The. 

Date 275 

Character 276 

Texts  of  prophecy 276 

Groups  of 277 

Literary  forms  used  by  ....   277 

Of  Prosperity 278 

Of  Adversity 283 

Of  the  Restoration 288,  290 

REFORMED  CHURCH  OF  AMER- 
ICA. 

History  of  Constitution    ....  148 

Origin  of  name 149 

RESCUE  MISSIONS. 
Conducted   by  Brotherhood  of 

Andrew  and  Philip 138 

REVELATION. 

Date 308,  379 

Groups  of  seven 369 

REVISED  VERSION  of  Bible. 

Inception  and  completion    .  .  .  248 

REVISED  VERSION,   American, 
OF  Bible. 

Differs  from  Revised  Version    .  249 

REVIVALS. 

Definition 123 

Characteristics      123 

Elements      123 

Holy  Ghost  in 12.3,  125 

Not  confined  to  religion    ....  124 

Forces  producing 124 

History  of 125 

Future  of 125 

Special  tunes  for 126 

Conduct  of 126 

ROMANS. 

Luther,  Calvin,  et  al.,  on     ...  306 

Justification  by  faith 307 

Topics 307 

RUTH. 

An  idyl 261 

Reveals  God  as  righteous     ...  261 

SACRAMENTS,    Administration 

OF. 

Times 96 

By  whom  administered     ....     96 
(See  also  Baptism  and  Commun- 
ion, The.) 

SALVATION  ARMY. 
Church's  relation  to 142 

SAMUEL  T.  AND  II. 
Biography  of  a  great  man  ...    261 
Samuel  introduces  two  orders: 
prophets  and  kings 261 

SCHOOL,  The. 
An  institution  of  culture  ....    225 

SCIENCE. 
Accords  with  Genesis 251 


SEMINAR  WORK.  page 

In  Seminary  course ix 

SEMINARY,  Theological. 

Training-school  for  pastors.  .   .    107 
SERMON,  The. 

Text  sermons 26 

Subject  sermons 26 

Expository  sermons 27 

Catechism  sermons 28 

Doctrinal 29 

Moral  or  practical 31 

Historical 31 

Experimental 32 

Choice  of  subjects  for 33 

Plan  of 33 

Parts  of  sermon  plan 35 

Preparation  of 38 

Exercises  in  planning 38 

Processes  of  constructing  ...     39 

Materials  for 40,  43 

Plagiarism 42 

Expository  character  of  ...   .     43 
Scripture  events  and  Scripture 

scenes 43,  44 

Argumentative    character     of 

(see  also  Argument) 44 

Use   of   illustrations    (see  also 

Illustrations) 48 

Study  of  great  sermons  ....     50 

Object 51 

Evangelistic  sermons 52 

For  evening  service 52 

Should  be  in  line  with  preach- 
er's experience 53 

Aftereffects 53 

Style    (see   also    Style,     Ser- 

MONIC) 54 

Length 96 

SOCIETY.    (See  also  Sociology.) 

Definition 197 

Like  an  organism 197,  208 

Essentials  in  organization  of .  .    199 

Sympathy  as  a  force  in 199 

Individuals  in 200 

Systems  of 200 

Classes  of 201 

Steps  in  organization  of  ...   .   202 
Results  of  organization  ....    203 

Progress  of,  a  growth 204 

Future  of 204 

Land  the  physical  basis  of  .   .   .    205 

Institutions  of 210 

(See  also  Family,  The  ;  Indus- 
try;    Culture,    Institution 
of;  Control,  Institution  of.) 
SOCIOLOGY. 
A  branch  of  Practical  Theology  viii 

Books  recommended xiii 

Definition 192 

Theory  of  Evolution 193 

Departments  of 194 

In  the  Bible 194,  196,  209,  230 

In  Seminary  curriculum  ....    195 
Reasons  for  preacher's  study  of  195 


320 


mDEX 


SOCIOLOGY— Continued.  page 

Elements  and  forces  ....  205,  206 

Heredity 206 

Environment 208 

Dynamic,  in  relation  to  industry  223 
Power  of  social  consciousness 

in  government 229 

Psychological  laws  of  social  con- 
sciousness     229 

Social  pathology 231 

Prevention  of  social  evils  bet- 
ter than  cure 231 

Difficulties  in  social  pathology  232 
Classes  of  social  disease  ....   232 
Dynamic,  coop)erates  with  peda- 
gogy    241 

In  the  Bible 242 

Taught  bv  Christ 242 

Its  ideal,  the  Kingship  of  Christ  243 
(See  also  Poverty;  Vice;  Crime.) 

SOLOMON. 
Wisdom  Literature 273 

SONG  OF  SONGS,  Solomon's. 

An  epithalamium 274 

Illustrates  the  bridal  of  Christ 
and  His  Church 274 

STATE,  The. 
An  institution  of  control  ....    227 

STYLE,  Sermonic. 

Qualities  of 55 

Psychology  of 55 

Dramatic  and  poetic  elements 

in 56 

Methods  of  cultivating 56 

SUNDAY-SCHOOL,  The. 
Nature  and  management  of  .   .    186 

A  church  institution 186 

A  religious  school 187 

A  school,  not  a  church 187 

Should  be  graded 188 

Bible  as  text-book 188 

Study  of  catechisms 188 

Conversion  the  aim  of 189 

Class  in  the  Compendium  ...    189 

Decision  Day 189 

Time  of  holding 189 

Calisthenics 190 

Pastor's  work  in 190 

SYNODS. 
In  R.  C.  A.  Constitution   ....    156 

TEMPBRANCE.    (See    Intemper- 
ance.) 

TENEMENT  REFORM. 

Society's  duty  toward 215 

A  step  in  abolition  of  poverty    .    235 
Salvation  Army's  work  in  ...    235 

TEXT,  The. 

Relation  to  Sermon 21 

Proper  use  of  texts 22 

Choice  of  texts 22,  23 

Texts  to  be  avoided 22 

Preacher's  duty  toward    ....     23 


TEXT,  Tn-E— Continued.  page 

Study  of 24 

Spiritualizing  a  text 24 

Examples  of  textual  interpreta- 
tion          25 

Accommodation  of 26 

THEOLOGY,     Practical.      (See 
Practical  Theology.) 

THESSALONIANS  I.  and  H. 
Earliest  N.  T.  writings 305 

TDIOTHY  I.  AND  II. 
Paul's  charge  to  Timothy  and 
farewell  to  Gentiles 308 

TITUS. 
On  organizing  churches    ....    308 

VICE. 

A  social  disease 233 

Classes 236 

(See  also  Impurity,  Sexual;  In- 
temperance; Gambling;  Cor- 
ruption.) 

WOMEN'S     MISSIONARY      SO- 
CIETY. 

Should  be  sustained  by  church  141 

WORSHIP. 

Elements 72 

Christian  differs  from  heathen  .  73 

Sacredness 73 

Importance 74 

Influence  upon  worshipers  ...  74 

Influence  upon  nation 74 

Influence  upon  character  ...  75 

Etymology 75 

Posture 76 

Forms 76 

Object 77 

Mariolatry  and  saint-worship  .  77 

WORSHIP,   Public.      (See    aJso 
Ltturgics.) 

Incited  by  fellowship 73 

Origin  and  sanction 76 

No  ritual  prescribed  in  Scrip- 
tures    77 

Qualities 77 

Theories  of  leadership 78 

Component  parts 78 

Sermon  chief  part  of 95 

Y.  M.  C.  A. 

Church's  relation  to 142 

YOUNG  MEN'S  SUNDAY  EVEN- 
ING CLUB. 

Church's  relation  to 137 

Y.  P.  S.  C.  E. 

Use  of,  in  prayer-meeting  ...    129 

Church's  relation  to 136 

ZECHARIAH. 

Continues  Haggai's  ministry  ,  .   289 
ZEPHANIAH. 

Prophet  of  judgment  and  salva- 
tion   284 


The  Ten  Commandments 
And  The  Lord^s  Prayer 

By  FERDINAND  S.  SCHENCK,  D.D. 

Professor  of  Practical  Theology^  Theological  Seminary  of  the  Reformed 
{Dutch)  Church  in  America^  New  Brunswick. 

It  presents  direct  and  striking  appplications  of  the 
everlasting  truths  contained  in  the  Commandments 
and  in  the  Lord's  Prayer.  The  natural,  moral,  and 
practical  applications  of  the  great  truths  are  forcefully 
expounded  and  zealously  advocated.  The  author 
takes  up  each  of  the  ten  commandments  in  order, 
and  applies  them  socially,  commercially,  politically, 
and  religiously. 

COMMENDED  IN  HIGH  TERMS 

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good." 

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set  in  happier  families,  and  much  more  effective  churches." 

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l2mo^  Cloth.    Pricey  $1.00,  Net ;  by  Mail,  $i.io 
Funk  &  Wagnalls  Company,  Pubs.,  New  York  and  London 


Date  Due 

MR  25*52 

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